Summary: The Shikon Miko Kikyou finds a stray dog under a poorly-worded spell. Now, can things be improved, or is the fate of the Second Prince of the west sealed in stone?

A/N: This one shot was inspired by a wonderful

The Half-Demon Prince and the Curse of Four Paws by NeutronStarchild.. Thank you for inspiring this little thing! Hope you enjoy it at least a bit!
This is the first oneshot of a little series - most likely 3 fics - that will tell the whole story..
In short - my rl and health didn't let me write the whole story as one big fic in time.
thanks for FawnEyedGirl for all your help


Canine Curse Crisis


It was one of the nights that, despite being warm and without rain, don't tempt people to go on a stargazing adventure. Most of the people of the kingdom of the West stayed at home. Maybe it was because of a sudden burst of cool breeze from the north, the first sign of the approaching winter season. Maybe it was because in this area there were few young people inclined to enjoy the outdoors after dark. Or maybe it was because tonight was the third anniversary of the disappearance of the youngest Prince of the West.

It wasn't like the prince had been that much beloved by the population, but at least he'd been more approachable than the Crown Prince Sesshomaru. He'd been a mouthy brat, the youngest prince, but he'd been honest and generous. Among the poor people he'd been known for his ability to curse like a sailor while helping an old lady through a stream. Among the soldiers he'd been known as a fierce fighter, even if he'd been prone to picking opponents that could (and often would) kick his royal behind. Among the nobles he'd been sorely missed, because despite being the second son, he'd been vital to keeping the royal bloodline alive since the mating of the Crown Prince was still childless.

Taijiya and the royal guard had been looking for him. Some private initiatives were made to find him and to get in the good graces of the royal family by finding him. The King even summoned a miko called Botan to use her magic in bringing him back or at least locating him, but her efforts had been all in vain - the prince was beyond reach of a simple miko like herself and no daimiko would come when summoned.

As the day of the third anniversary of his disappearance bleed away from the present and into the past, few desperate believers held hope for his return. The King was planning to add his picture and name to the shrine of their ancestors, but only the pleas of the Queen and her desperate hope stalled his hand from doing so and proclaiming him dead.

Only two people in the kingdom had any idea what had happened to the young prince. Fate decided it was high time to make it three .

.

A lone dog walked down an empty street in a small town near the border between the West and the East. Usually a passing of a strange dog would make the resident dogs of various households bark and growl, but none made a noise, merely watching the stray go by.

The stray was pretty big and with wasted potential for imposing stature. His long legs were boney and his broad chest should be well-muscled, but somehow the creature looked miserable. His matted coat had once been white and thick, but now it was wild, dirty and tangled. Even the fluffy tail, which looked like it should be curled over the animal's back, was hanging low - not in a gesture of submission, but numb resignation. Triangular ears stood lax on top of the dog's head, twitching idly at this sound and that, but not standing to full attention. Yellow eyes that could shine like polished gold, looked unfocused and resigned.

The stray sniffed around a garbage can and snorted at finding nothing worthy of even a stray's interest. He walked on, not sparing any of the silent houses a second glance.

He didn't want to stay around humans or youkai in the country. He wanted to go as far as he could from any sentient being before his own sentience dissolved in canine-nity. He didn't want to beg and have a master, even if it could warrant a comfy life as someone's pet.

He didn't want to be given a new name. He already had a name. He was Inu- He was I- He was... He had a name, he had had a name before, a great name, he was sure of it. He remembered... people... calling him by that name.

He had no hope left. He had less and less of his old self left. But he was damn sure his pride would be the last thing he'd lose. He was going to go as far from his old life as he could, so no one could suspect who he'd been and pity the poor dog. He'd had hate, disgust, disdain and more - all he could handle or ignore. But pity - even pity he wouldn't be aware of soon - that was too much to the proud silver inu.

He was already forgetting things. Was the name of his personal maid, the one he'd rescued from her own village people Rin or Shiori? W/hat was the name of his father's sword? What was the smell of his mother's perfume?

What was his name?

Loss swelled in the dog's heart, a longing for something that faded away like wisps of fog in the first rays of sunlight. He missed something, he wanted to go back... somewhere. He regretted every step, but continued to be pushed onward by determination.

There was no use in howling, he'd just wake up and annoy the villagers, who would throw things at him. Or try to catch him like that man, who tried to breed him. Him! Him... who? He had escaped that dump of a place, where so many other dogs had been in cages, the man's blood tainting his fur.

Had he killed that human?

Why did he care? He'd fought and won back his freedom that day.

'I wish I could go back and kick the bastard's teeth in, and make sure the dogs got better houses,' came a fierce thought a flash of sentience that blazed for a split second just to dim back to barely there glow, fading in the mind of a dog, who cared little for the past and the dogs that didn't belong to hi pack.

He had no pack. He had no place to call his own. He had no past and no future. Only the wilderness that filled the no man's land between two kingdoms. No one could see his shame there... even if he wasn't certain what was the shame and what shame was in general.

A small lovely cottage was on the edge of the village. A pretty white building, with flowers in the garden and with window shutters painted green. On the sill of one of the windows was a tray with a cake cooling in the breeze, but he was wiser than to try and steal it. Then, before the dog passed the house, a scent wafted to his nose, a scent he recognized.

The canine stopped and turned his head, inhaling deeply. Yes it was a scent he knew. A pleasant scent akin to the smell after the storm. He bared his teeth and growls deep in his chest.

A woman walked around the corner of the house, causing the dog on the street to growl more. It was foolish to show anger he knew it, but it was her! She wore the same red and white robes, her hair was black and long, her aura smelled of potent magic.

She did something to him, he was sure of it, even if he didn't remember what. She was the reason he was losing himself, that he was a dog and not a... a... It was all her fault!

"Oh!" The woman dropped the basket of vegetables she held, it drifted slowly to the ground next to her, as if gravity wasn't much more than a gentle reminder which way is down. She covered her mouth with her hands, blue eyes staring at him in shock.

That gave him a pause. In the last rays of sunlight he watched her closely and saw differences.

Her eyes should be brown. Her hair should be wavy, not straight. Her figure should not be this slim, she should be shorter. And she should smell differently. Under the scent of magic this woman smelled not like the one he'd taken her for. This was not an enemy.

His ears perked up and he whined before he went on his way, this time moving faster. He'd growled at a person. That meant more people getting angry and scared. Throwing things at him. Trying to kill or catch him.

"No, wait!"

Her cry was urgent and demanding. The dog didn't hesitate any longer. He started to run, as fast as his tired body would allow him. He knew what it meant when people shouted after him. He left her and the village behind, following the road that went across a small thicket and then went alongside a river. He crossed a bridge and ducked between some more trees. His heart pounded, his paws barely touched the dirt, causing leaves and debris to fall behind him as he climbed a hill.

"I told you to wait," said a calm voice to his left. The dog glanced that way just to see the woman from before, sitting sideways on an... an arrow that flew as fast as he ran, keeping a meter and a half above the ground. The woman was frowning.

With a noise of surprise the dog changed his direction in one leap, dashing between the trees. He trampled undergrowth and scratched the dry leaves and roots with his claws. His ears laid back, he jumped and ran among the trees, his breath coming out in fast pants. He entered a meadow where a small stream fed into a pond with water lilies on the surface.

"Aloft!"

His paws no longer touched the ground, his claws no longer tore into soft dirt. The dog yowled, his legs moving as if he hoped to somehow run in the air. Something was coiling around him, warm and cold at the same time - unnatural and scary as it restricted the dog in his attempt to run away.

Unable to get free from whatever creatures were holding the canine in the air, he whine and panted - partially from the run, but mostly from anxiety. His ears laid back and his tail tucked between his hind legs, the dog made soft noises and watched the approaching woman with soulful eyes of an animal. He licked his nose anxiously when she stopped in front of him, out of range of his teeth despite the fact that the big dog showed all signs of submission and avoided looking directly at her. In the falling night it was easier to miss the dirt and poor condition the canine was inn, he appeared like an overgrown puppy hoping not to get scolded and to be set free. He dared to cast a quick glance at the woman and whined.

Her face was stern, with a frown that the dog didn't like one bit.

"What happened to you, Prince Inuyasha?" asked the daimiko Kikyou with soft, gentle voice that made the ears of the dog quiver

.

The dog looked at the woman without recognition in his golden eyes. Kikyou sighed and lifted her hand, but didn't reach to touch him. The poor creature shivered and whined so pitifully, expecting her to harm him. The daimiko wondered for how long he'd been like this and what he'd experienced to shy away from a mere touch. It was so different from what she remembered of the youngest Prince of the West, who had been spunky and brave.

The woman smelled of unnatural power. The light breeze that played with the strands of her long hair brought to him the odd scent of herbs mixed with the smell of the air after a storm. She spoke to him softly, but he knew people could be deceiving. was she going to hurt him? He was unable to fight or free himself as he was fully aware no one would come to his aid, no one would care. His fate was his alone and no living being would miss his existence being ended in the forest. For some reason this simple fact made the whine choke in his throat, his ears wilt and his struggles cease.

What was the point of struggling to live as he was? The dog was lost and confused by the feelings that filled his head, going against his survival instincts. They were getting weaker by minute, but still persisted,. He had no pack, no one that would dispute territories with him, no mate, no pups, no past indicating having any of that in the time since his birth till now. where memories would have been only dark fog, that filled his heart with painful loneliness. There was sorrow, a promise that ha been never grated despite being portrayed as a solution to his problem. The dog didn't understand that. He hadn't done something or hadn't found something in time. Or maybe he hadn't been found in time. It didn't matter much anymore anyway. Soon, he was going to forget about all those fading echoes of whatever it had been, that inhabited his mind an heart.

"Prince Inuyasha?" the woman whispered to him, but he didn't understand the words. He was not a tamed, trained dog, he knew no names nor commands. Still, something quivered deep within the dark fog of his mind, not a recognition, but a mere glimpse of a fondness brought forth by the sound he didn't recognize, but found oddly familiar. As if he had heard this word often, long ago, in the past that he didn't have.

It didn't last long, but distracted him enough that he didn't notice when one of the flying snake things uncoiled from around his suspended in the air frame and flew to sit in the palm of the woman's hand. The end of its long body wrapped around his chest. In the dusk the being appeared to glow a faint, eerie light.

"Let me see," she said and closed her eyes in concentration "Hm, a daimiko.. Who would dare to put a spell on a member of the royal family of the West, all know that that family is mine to work magic on."

The dog observed her mutely, the creature in her hand chirped a weird sound that seemed to fade into tones that belonged to a scale not even canine ears could pick. .

Kikyou, the Shikon Miko, frowned and a look of displeasure appeared on her face. She stood as the first among the daimiko of the land, the most powerful one of them all. She kept to herself, but she fulfilled her duties carefully, following the guidance of the heavens. Because of her kindness and virtues of character, she had been given the privilege to place spells on the royal family of the land, to aid them in their growth and to help them stay on the right path. She usually lived in her cottage, tending to her garden and village, only involving herself in matters of greater magic when it was required of her, so she didn't get biased or influenced by her relationships with the royal family or members of the court.

Thirty years ago she had put a spell on the Crown Prince Sesshomaru.. For his poor conduct toward hanyou - his brother included - and for his arrogance, he was cursed to remain without a heir until his younger brother found his true destiny and found love. That spell was supposed to ensure that Sesshomaru aide his younger brother in discovering the true meaning of power and duty, along with finding in his heart respect for resilience and bravery of his sibling. It was also designed to teach him humility, since now the faith of his line depended on the choices of a being of lesser power. She had foreseen that this would have taken them around three decades and had been planning to check up on them in a few months or so.

Now, as she stood in front of the Second Prince of the West, a dog that seemed not to recognize his own name, she knew that things were painfully not right. The prince's soul was fading away into the binding the curse on him created, leaving the boy as nothing more than a dog that he was in body currently.

She was most unhappy with all of this. It put the royal family - and by extension the whole kingdom - in jeopardy. Her careful spell was now a curse that would end the line of succession and Kikyou was growing annoyed with every second she inspected the spell on the prince.

The dog picked on her rising anger and whined, no longer trying to fight his way to freedom. It was so painful to watch, the expression on the face and in the eyes of the dog clearly saying he didn't want to be near her, but he didn't try to get away. One could think he was too scare of her to act, but Kikyou saw the fog of resignation in those golden eyes. He gave up, after who knew how long a battle, and now was resign himself to take whatever she was about to do to him.

She knew the second prince only briefly, but it broke her heart, seeing the son of the proud, honorable and audacious line so broken, his spirit dimmed and down.

Just ire rose in her heat, anger for her work being undone and for the pain someone he caused a member of the family she had been watching over for unnumbered years. How could someone do this to him? He had flaws -a whole parade of flaws - but he had a good heart and potential to see above expectations.

"Hush, Prince Inuyasha," she said softly to the distressed dog. "I shall rectify this."

With that she closed her eyes again, her mind brushing across the spell that sounded like the prince. It was stronger than most spells cast by miko or daimiko. She recognized the power that had wrought this magic and immediately looked back up at the dog.

"Higurashi Kagome I, the Shikon Miko, summoned you," she said, surprise clear in her voice. She had expected Tsubaki or another daimiko that found pleasure in disrupting the order of things, but to find her young cousin tied to the spell... The girl had been a daimiko for three years and a miko for a couple years longer, she had never done such a thing l. She had never missed her magic in big things, even if sometimes she did some little mischief. It had never been out of malice, but of short temper and fiery attitude. To Kikyou's knowledge her young cousin had been a decent daimiko, slowly gaining experience in her craft and power.

But now... Now, as she gazed at the dog hanging suspended by her familiars, Kikyou saw that maybe she had to teach her kin a lesson. She had overstepped on her right and had complicated things. Whatever reason could she have had to do something like this to a member of the royal family, making him lose himself and become a mere animal?

Tonight, Kikyou decided as she waited for her summoning to be answered, she decided to make use of her other right, the right to punish a fellow miko that had caused too much trouble in her land. After all, even if she was capable of reversing the spell, there were going to be aftereffects that she was not particularly looking forward to. She could use that to teach the young Higurashi a thing or two about crafting more thought out spells in the future.

.

When another woman flew down from the sky, riding on an arrow as well, the dog was standing on the ground. The snake things were floating around, illuminating the meadow with their eerie glow. The first woman was gently petting his head and he allowed it, seeing that there was nothing else for him to do. He couldn't run away, he knew to fight would be futile.

"Aunt Kikyou!" called the happy voice. "What made you summon me here, to the forest?"

She jumped off of her arrow, which dropped to the ground behind her back when she fixed a green scarf she wore around her neck to protect herself from the night air. She blinked in surprise when she saw the dog, who didn't even care to sniff the air coming from her. Whoever she was, what did it matter?

Kikyou looked at her young cousin with a frown on her face. While she was willowy and tall, dignified and aloof, her cousin Kagome was not. She wore the traditional red and white clothing of a miko, but her hair was not tied or braided, so it was tousle and wind blown. She had rosy cheeks and eyes glinting with curiosity and optimism. While Kikyou was a serene, beautiful cherry tree in bloom, melancholic and mysterious in the moonlight, Kagome most certainly was a fire dragon maple, short and of vibrant colors, energy and sweetness radiating from her like sweet sap of a maple tree in autumn.

It was so hard to believe that Kagome could curse someone so severely.

"I summoned you here as the Shikon Miko, Kagome," Kikyou said calmly and patted the dog's head. "I found him..."

"Oh, goodness a dog!" Kagome clasped her hands and came a few steps closer. "Poor thing, he looks like he had a bad time... Oh."

That last word was not spoken in the enthusiastic, sympathetic tone of voice Kagome used when confronted with fuzzy animals who needed some love. No, this was uttered in a truly shocked tone. Kagome lifted her hand to cover her mouth, her big brown eyes staring at the dog, who lowered his head away from Kikyou's touch. It was plain to see that Kagome recognized him, and remembered the spell so tightly woven around the animal.

"I... Oh, goodness, he is still change..." the young daimiko whispered and turned her yes to Kikyou. "And the time has passed already, it's permanent now... Oh, no, non, that's terrible! Why didn't he do as he was told to resume his old form? Can you fix him, aunt uh, Shikon Miko?"

Kikyou sighed, seeing the hope in the eyes of her kin, so trusting in her own power.

"It is but a trifle matter for me to reverse his form to that in which he was born," she admitted. "I have prepared the spell for this as I was waiting for your arrival. or not to happen, the last part has to be done by the one who has cast the spell binding him. Speak his name to complete my spell and then we shall talk about the reason as to why you have cursed him so."

Sympathy on Kagome's face froze and she turned her eyes back to the dog, who cautiously shifted a bit more away from them both, eyeing the familiars of the Shikon Miko. In the moonlight, patches of clean fur shone like snow under the trees in deep forest. Kagome frowned in concentration, focusing and struggling to find the answer despite all her will to do so. The longer she remained silent, the stiffer Kikyou's body became, suspicion growing in her rapidly.

"Um..." Kagome bit her bottom lip after a long pause. "... Uh... Actually... I don't know his name."

Surprise washed over the older of the two women, quickly replaced by annoyance.

"Inuyasha," she informed the foolish girl.

"Oh... Inuyasha," the girl sighed in relief, relaxing as if happy that she was spared scolding. Poor girl, she didn't know the extent of the emotions swirling in her cousin's heart.

And just as the name resounded in the cool night air, under the moon and the stars, in the forest outside of Kikyou's village, the magic swirled around the dog, who stared at it with mixture of instinctual panic and resignation of someone who has lost hope. In a flash of light, the dog was no more.

A young man stood in the canine's place, quite tall and with broad shoulders, but very thin. His silver hair was long and matted, Vibrant red clothing hung from his shoulders and he had no footwear. Dog ears were droopy on the top of his head and golden eyes stared at the two women with no speck of the courageous will that Kikyou was used to seeing in the eyes of the members of his family.

"I'm so glad it worked!" Kagome smiled with relief. "I really didn't expect you to not follow my instructions and end up really changing into a dog forever, Inuyasha. Good thing Shikon Miko was willing to help you."

"Whatever," he said flatly.

"Now, daimiko Higurashi Kagome," Kikyou said, causing the girl to look back at her. "Pray, enlighten me as to why you saw it fit to put a spell like this on the second prince of the royal family of the Western Kingdom. I wish to know all the details, including the wording of the spell and the events that made you overreach on my rights.."

"Oh, crap." Kagome whispered.

.

A stray gust of wind shook the forest on the edge of the Western Kingdom, where the long lost prince stood on his two feet again. He stood there, observing the two women facing each other. The older one, fair and cool like the moon, looked down her nose at the younger one, who at first stared at her, then lowered her gaze and bit her bottom lip.

"He... he's a prince?" she whispered so softly it was hard to hear even for his keen ears.

"You didn't check who you put a spell like this on," Kikyou said flatly.

"Erm... I didn't... But..." Kagome admitted, but before she could explain herself, Kikyou asked.

"Did you check if he wasn't under a spell already?" she sighed when Kagome just shook her head.

Inuyasha lost interest. So what, if the miko had cursed him without following some rules? What difference did it make? He knew now, how little it mattered, if he was or was not among the citizens of the kingdom. He knew no one would miss him, no one would remember him with anything else than a curse. He had forgotten being smiled at and appreciated for who he was - had been once such a time, such people that could suffer being around a stray like him, a mongrel that inspired no fondness in the hearts of those who looked upon him?

The kingdom was better off without him tainting it and making a nuisance of himself.

He turned to leave, not noticed by the two women, which was nothing new to him - people tended to pretend not to see a starving stray, unless it foolishly drew their attention. He walked unsteadily, learning anew the way of moving on two feet instead of four. He was once more a man, not a mere dog but his mind was confused and full of bitterness. He moved past the flying familiars, who didn't stop him, for their command spoke of a dog, not a man. He could hear raised voices behind his back, but ignored them, for none of the women called after him , too focused on their argument over some insignificant matter. Soon, trees surrounded him and his feet felt the tough roots and pebbles hidden under fallen leaves instead of soft grass

Behind hi, in the meadow, Kikyou glared at the younger woman, who bit her bottom lip and lowered her head for a moment before lifting her gaze to meet the blue eyes of the older one.

"I acted hastily, yeah, but I had a reason to," she informed the elder miko. "I was just appointed the daimiko of the ookami and was visiting the pack that lives in the mountains. And when Prince Kouga and I went to see his warriors train in a field, we found him among the dead bodies of many wolves, all brutally killed. He was drenched in their blood from head to toe and the wolf prince was most distraught, calling him a mongrel murderer"

"And so you saw it fit to cast a spell on Inuyasha ," Kikyou said. "Without him admitting that he had done that."

"There was no one else there and he..." Kagome hesitated. She remembered that day when she had gone to see the people she would be guiding from now on as their new daimiko.

.

Prince Kouga was most charming, raining compliments at her during their walk from the caves where his pack lived to the field where they trained. Some of the pack members remained in the caves, but most of them were enjoying the nice weather outside.

When they had stepped out of the forest and into the field, both of them had cried out in shock and horror. Bodies, bloodied and cruelly cut, had been scattered across trampled grass, a lone figure in red standing in the middle of the carnage, his hands lifted and covered in gore.

"My pack mates!" Prince Kouga cred out, his voice full of pain. He turned his bright blue eyes at the man in the field, who turned to look at them with wide, golden eyes. "You mongrel! You monster! You murderer, I'll kill you!"

Before Kagome could stop him, the prince dashed forward and leaped to attack the silver-haired man. The stranger tried to say something a few times, but each time the distraught prince yelled insults at him and attacked him more ferociously. Soon, the stranger growled back at him and ceased trying to talk. Prince Kouga was fast, but the stranger was strong, knocking the wolf away from him and punching with enough force to break bones. Luckily, the prince managed to dodge, but he couldn't land a hit or a swipe, dancing away before being injured, then attacking from a different angle. It was easy to see, even for the miko watching the fight, that the prince wouldn't win against the power of the stranger, for the only reason for him still leaping about was because the stranger didn't choose to grab and pin him own to do to hm what had been one to the rest of his pack.

Kagome clenched her fists, trying to find a way to aid the prince in his fight. He was covered n scrapes and bruises from colliding with trees, his eyes full of anger and his claws glistening in the light, but all his battle prowess was for naught, when the stranger used a powerful kick, that impacted with his lower belly and sent him to the ground, catching painful breaths an clutching at the front of his kilt, his eyes squeezed shut. Instead of delivering the killing blow, the stranger decided to show some honor and stepped back a few paces.

"I have no idea what farts your brain produces in that thick head of yours, but I ain't the one that is responsible for all this shit," he waved his hand, caked with dry blood. "I got here not long before you and they were dead already! And then they attacked me!"

"Lie! You think we'll believe that shit, mutt?!" Prince Kouga wheezed. "You have their blood on your hands!

"Fuck off, you fleabag, I ain't guilty of killing anyone!" the silver-haired man barked and lifted his head. "But if you want to, I can kick your ass some more for calling me a liar!"

"Lies! You coward, you attacked my underlings and killed them without mercy!"

"What makes you think I'd kill such weak idiots?! I have better things to do than to get all dirty with wolf stench! It will take ages to get the smell of wolf guts out of my hair!"

"Miko, curse him!" The prince exclaimed, probably still unable to rise and fight after his last injury. He couldn't bear the insult and coarse attitude the murderer had towards those fallen of his kin. That was when the stranger finally noticed her, standing on the edge of the field.

"You won't dare, wench..." he started in a low growl.

But Kagome did dare. She couldn't feel magic in the area and the stranger
was most likely trying to escape being trialed for killing all those poor wolves. He so easily fought back the prince, so she knew it would be for him easy to kill those weaker than him. She was the daimiko of the wolves of this kingdom and for their sake she could use her magic. But there were rules to obey and Kagome have to abide by them, otherwise her spell wouldn't take hold of the stranger, now growling at her. She stole a glance around the field, at the many fallen wolves and the lonely prince brought to his knees and still holding at the front of his kilt, tears running down his cheeks. Then she focused on the stranger with his vicious claws and blazing eyes, with wind blown hair and dirty attire, his bare feet covered in mud and his features frozen in a cowl.

She touched the jewel that hung around her neck and called forth her magic, ordering it to wrap around the man and sink into his skin. Her power would bind him, would transform him and - if he fulfilled the requirements - it would make him a better man in the end. Miko couldn't take life with their magic, they had to give those they cast a spell on a second chance to grow into a better version of themselves.

"Listen well, stranger!" she called out, causing the silver-haired man to flinch and the kneeling prince to grin. "You will be a dog, for three years in body only, but if you do not fulfill your penance, you will live the rest of your life as a dog, unable to harness the gifts that enabled you to slay so many for no reason. Realize the depth of your sin, killing innocent people, confessing and atone. Prove that you can be honorable and take responsibility for your actions and you shall be restored to your old shape. May no other aid you in your quest, so you feel the loneliness that you bestowed so shamelessly on Prince Kouga, who is now without his kin. So, as it was said, may it be now."

With that her magic was released and the man with dog ears disappeared in a flash of light. A curse word he tried to scream changed into a howl and after a moment of dizziness, Kagome saw that there was no man anymore but a big white dog, staring around in confusion.

The prince rose slowly and smirked.

"Now, dog, bow down and admit your guilt and I will not make a rug for my cave out of your hide," he said somewhat smugly. The dog snorted and ran off, somewhat wobbly at first. The prince made a move as if to chase him, but Kagome called to him.

"Don't! He has to come back out of his own will," she told the prince.

"I kinda hoped you'd strike him with lightning or something, miko," the prince sighed.

"I cannot do such a thing. Now, let's call the remaining members of your pack and see what we can do about your fallen brethren," she said, offering him a sympathetic look. He grew somber and nodded, clenching his fists and looking after the fleeing dog.

It was a hard task, taking care of the fallen wolves - both mentally and physically. They had been cut and strangled, some tangled in cut threads of something akin to hair or wire, probably from the silver-haired man's attacks. They had been coiling around him until she had placed her spell on him, but now lay lax and torn about the field.

.

As Kagome told Kikyou her story, the older woman frowned more and more. Once the young daimiko fell silent, glancing at her elder with concerned expression, Kikyou sent one of her familiars to wrap around her loosely. At least the foolish girl didn't try to escape the gentle coils. She should be thankful that Kikyou was so good at controlling her anger, for all the elder miko wanted to do was to let loose her magic and put a nasty curse on the silly girl.

Undoing the damage Kagome had done wasn't impossible. It was just going to be hard and time consuming. And, Kikyou decided, it was the best punishment she could give her. Nothing taught a young miko to be careful with her magic better than taking responsibility for misusing the heaven-sent power.

"This was a story of many mistakes, Higurashi Kagome. Mistakes most unbecoming of a daimiko," Kikyou said sternly. Kagome looked at her with wide, afraid eyes and the older woman lifted her hand to point a finger at her. "Hence, I, Kikyou, hereby rewoke your title as such and restore you to the rank of regular miko. Be reassured that once you undo your mistakes you shall be welcome to pursue the rank of daimiko again,"

Kagome opened her mouth, but Kikyou's familiar merely tightened its hold.

"For what we know, you might have punished an innocent person," Kikyou declared, making the girl fall silent and look down. "You did not investigate if he was truly to blame for the murder... And let me assure you, members of his family do not kill unprovoked, nor are they fond of slaying those weaker than them."

Kagome glanced up just for a moment to see the look of utter certainty on Kikyou's face. She had been watching over this family for many years, she knew them to be honorable and just, even if at times they were hot-headed. Inuyasha, Kikyou was sure of it, would never kill a bunch of weak youkai without a good reason. He could beat them up for some silly one, but that was hardly the case, given the gruesome image of the scene Kagome had described to her.

Besides, no inu youkai had a thread-based attack. The closest thing to it was an energy whip that the Crown Prince had. Kagome had not paid attention to what breed of youkai the one she had been putting a curse on was.

"You put a spell on Prince Inuyasha without proper procedure and now you have to make him be himself again after suffering through the ill-worded spell. That's an order and if you fail, I shall find a way to punish you accordingly."

"Uh, but... He's back to his original shape already..." Kagome dared to say.

"His physical shape has been restored, but you will have to restore his spirit," Kikyou said and turned to see that Inuyasha was no longer with them. "Where is he?"

Her familiars chirped to her and she turned to look deeper in the forest to the East. In the darkness she glimpsed a flash of white and immediately walked after it; Kagome, after a moment of hesitation, walked after her.

It took no time at all to catch up with the young prince. He wasn't running, just walking, somewhat unsteadily. His body was clearly exhausted and adjusting to the new form way too slowly. He didn't acknowledge the two women walking beside him under the trees.

"Prince Inuyasha, wait, please," she said. It took a minute for his golden, empty eyes to turn her way. Was he still unable to recognize it? That was worrisome. "It's your name."

"I know," he said, turning his attention to his path again. The spark of hope ignited by those words, slurred as they were and spoken by mouth not used to forming words, flickered and almost faded to nothing in Kikyou's heart when he added.``I don't see why you want to talk to me."

"The West in the opposite way," she informed him. He shrugged and walked on.

"Feh."

"Don't you want to go see your family and friends? They certainly miss you," Kagome said softly.

The dry, bitter laugh that came from the man froze Kikyou's heart. It held no mirth, it felt wrong, it was like ash that no longer held the spark that glowed in each member of the inu royal family. Kikyou cast a glare at Kagome, worrying that maybe it was already too late to heal the broken spirit of the prince.

Kagome bit her bottom lip and reached out to touch his shoulder. She acted as if Kikyou wasn't there. A look of surprise, pity and guilt clear in her face. While Kikyou was worriedly truing to come up with an idea what to do, thinking if there was a spell that could fix what felt like a giant wound in the hanyou prince's heart, the younger miko laid a hand on his shoulder. The young man flinched like an animal that didn't expect being touched. Instead of holding onto him, Kagome pulled her hand back.

"It's okay," she said, her voice soothing and soft. "It's okay if you don't feel like seeing them yet. I know how it is to feel inadequate and I can imagine how confused you must feel right now."

Inuyasha said nothing to that, only his ears laid back against his matted hair. Yes, he was confused about many things, but he knew one thing - a half breed stray like him had no place in the royal palace. Thanks to that miko's spell he had endured a lot, he had learned how little he mattered to others, how easy it was to be forgotten by those who called themselves his family and friends. With the wealth of experience as a dog he no longer wanted to pretend he didn't notice people looking down at him for what he was. He was a half-breed stray, he was guilty of being alive and tainting the land. No matter what misfortune befallen people, it was his fault. Even this girl had put a spell on him without looking past his mixed heritage. She had assumed he was guilty as soon as she had seen him, no questions asked. No questions needed. Why was she still walking after him? Her spell was broken by the other miko and he didn't want to go back to be leered at, to be insulted, to be excluded. He wanted to go away and to be alone, so no one could see him ever again and blame him for whatever shit was going wrong.

"Maybe you'd like to stay in my home instead?" the girl asked, still in that kind, bright voice. She smelled of nice things, a scent so soothing and warm that he immediately knew he was not worthy to inhale it, but was unable to resist. Why was she suggesting such an outlandish thing? Why did she want him around?

"No" Inuyasha ducked his head under a low hanging branch and Kagome barely dodged it. She stumbled with a gasp and would have fallen on the tangled roots underfoot, if not for a clawed hand that grabbed her and steadied her long enough to get her balance back.

Kikyou stopped and let the two of them walk on, neither paying attention to what had happened. The seemingly uncaring, hopeless man had just saved the one who had - most likely unjustly - put him under a spell for years. All he seemed to want after being restored to his shape was to leave everything he loved and cared for earlier behind, remove himself from the land his family had protected for so long.

An yet, when a dweller of that land was in danger, almost as if by instinct and not by his own will, the youngest prince helped her.

"Why not?" Kagome asked the hanyou.

"I don't need your pity, miko." Kikyou's heart leaped when she heard the faintest hint of the pride that the inu youkai were so famous for. "Leave me be Besides, I bet your house stinks of you.."

Kagome gasped. "What? My house and I don't stink!"

She was about to say something, when she heard her aunt's voice fro behind her. She turned her head and gasped.

"Inuyasha!" Kikyou exclaimed. "Move aside!"

"A-aunt Kikyou...?" Kagome breathed out in shock. Kikyou, the daimiko that had way more power than herself, stood among the trees, holding a bow in hand. The arrow she had on the bowstring looked pretty deadly. And it was pointing at her. Kikyou's eyes were cold and distant, her face a perfect mask Kagome couldn't read.

"You broke the rules, Kagome and for that I have to punish you. You will pay with your life for the transgression you have commuted. May the heavens have mercy on you, for I shall not!"

"But..." Kagome felt cold sweat run down her spine. Forget how guilty and stupid she'd felt before, at least back then she had not been threatened to e slain by her family. It was no exaggeration that Kikyou was fond of the inu royal family, it seemed.

...And Kikyou never missed her shots.

Tears filled her eyes and she stepped back, gasping when she felt a rough trunk of a tree blocking her retreat. She couldn't run, Kikyou could make the arrow follow her until it hit her. Was she going to die here, for some stupid mistake? Okay, a giant mistake that made this man's last three years a terrible experience... But she hadn't seen to make him suffer! She had been confused and shocked, she had jumped to stupid conclusions and had not think things through... But... to be shot...

Dirty red and dull white obscured her vision.

"Killing a miko is a sin."

"I'm prepared to sin for the sake of your bloodline, Prince Inuyasha," Kikyou assured calmly. "Please, step aside, I need a clear shot."

The hanyou didn't move and Kagome felt her tears fall down her cheeks. What kind of person puts themselves in such a position for someone who had made their recent years a terrible experience that made them want to go away from everyone they loved?

Inuyasha stared at the crazy miko in front of him. He didn't move, only one ear cocking back when he heard the other one sob behind him. The scent of her fear was foul, he hated it like he hated being caged

He didn't really understand why he stepped in front of the girl. It wasn't like he cared for anything. But being killed for showing a half-breed his place was wrong, He figured out that if the miko - who he recognized as the miko who had cursed Sesshomaru a while ago - was so hell-bent on avenging the inu blood in him or just had to vent her anger, he was a good enough
target.

It wasn't like anyone would miss him or notice he was dead.

And, honestly, adding a vision of a girl being killed in front of him wasn't something he wanted to add to his list of nightmares.

"Very well," Kikyou lowered her bow when he didn't move. "I shall wait until you leave her alone to kill her."

"Aunt..." sobbed the girl, distraught and scared. That sound was foul too. He was surprised how much he didn't like it.

"Feh. It ain't like I have to be somewhere else" he shrugged.

"In this case," Kikyou waved a hand and a slew of sparks flew around them like cold fire "When you move more than five hundred meters from her I shall be notified and come to claim her life."

Kikyou turned around as she heard him scoff and smiled to herself. She walked back home, thinking about the youngest prince and the way he acted. He protected the foolish girl, even if he spoke with that monotone voice. Hi eyes remained dull and his expression was far from this lively, fiery countenance she remembered

But, just for a moment, under the mask of depression, she had glimpsed a spark of the brave, honorable boy that was rough around the edges. Scaring her silly niece - honestly, how clueless could she be, thinking that Kikyou would really shoot her? - was a tiny price to kindle the light of hope in her heart.

Inuyasha stared after the woman, motionless. Suddenly a pair of arms wrapped around him and a warm body pressed into his back, making him tense up. No one touched mongrels like him with good intentions. He felt uncomfortable, but it was also kinda nice.

"Thank you, Inuyasha," whispered the girl, true gratitude in her voice.

That tone was so strange and so unfamiliar. Why - how - could someone be thankful for anything he'd done? He remembered people complaining about him being inferior, blunt and uncouth. He remembered how they threw sticks at him when he brought to them the things they'd lost when he'd been a dog.

"Whatever, he grumbled and started to walk towards the eastern wilderness, as he had planned to do.

Hesitant, somewhat unsteady steps followed him. .

He paused. Could he go away from the land with a girl trailing him? A mongrel like him was fit to stay in the wilds, but she was so fragile and delicate - she couldn't survive a week in the dangerous wilderness. Well, it wasn't really his problem and she kinda deserved it for cursing him, but... She'd shown him how insignificant he was, really, how much for granted he took all the good things that had been a part of his life before he was a dog. He found himself not wanting to subject her to the fate of being not only tied to a stray, but also a life of hunger, cold and danger.

"Can we... Can we go home?" she asked softly, her voice still shaking after the distress caused by the other miko aiming her bow at her.

He didn't want her pity. He didn't want to see more people.

But he didn't want to watch her suffer. He had no home to return to, no one waiting for him, he was certain of it. But this girl, she had a place where she elongated. And, whether he wanted or not, for now he elongated near her.

"I will earn my keep," he decided, his pride not allowing him to accept her previous offer and plea.

He almost jumped out of his skin when a soft hand slipped into his to curl gently around his fingers.

.

The King of the Western Lands, Touga of the shiro inu, dreamed of a woman. It was not entirely a new thing to him, but the woman was not the one he was most pleased to see in his dreams. It was not his first wife, nor was it his second wife, but a woman he rarely saw in the waking world.

She floated with him in a sea of clouds, where directions were nothing. There were no scents or sounds to distract him from the figure a bit away from him, clad in red and white. Her black hair flowed behind her as if on a soft breeze.

He, in accordance with dream logic, wore a cloak of feathers that itched and shined with all the colors of a rainbow. He was sure Izayoi was going to laugh at him when he told her that bit.

"My king" the creep, calm voice of the woman drew his attention back from his attire. She appeared serene and distant, no hostility was in her blue eyes.

Shikon Miko" he greeted her. Whatever she had to say, was going to be important. Kikyou rarely visited the royal palace and never visited his dreams unless there was something he had to inform him about.

"Do not fret,for the tides I am bringing are good," she said.

"That's great," he said slowly. One never knew with her, since she rarely showed real emotion.

""Twice you wed and twice you became a father," the miko intoned. "Two fangs you shed and two swords you have made out of those fangs."

Touga nodded. All was right, the numbers didn't lie. He had two wives and two sons, he had made two swords for them. Sesshomaru was still unable to wield his properly and Inuyasha's... Inuyasha's has never been given to his youngest. Sorrow filled his heart when he thought about the boy, who had been such a handful. He missed the brat, he regretted that he hadn't given him Tessaiga earlier. Maybe that way his son would have been with them still.

"I shall take the sword intended for Prince Inuyasha," Kikyou said slowly, her eyes not focused on him anymore.

"Why?" Touga clenched his fists. It was a youkai blade, a miko had no business holding onto it. And, besides it was a memento of his lost son, even if he had never worn it at his hip. "Only Inuyasha could wield it."

He frowned when he saw the sheathed blade in Kikyou's hands. It didn't feel like a part of the dream.

"And wield he shall, King Touga," the daimiko said.

The next moment he woke, back in his bed, next to his wife. He didn't move, watching the first rays of the sun wander across the wall. He knew that, were he to go and check, he wouldn't find Tessaiga where it had hung on the wall in Inuyasha's empty room.

His heart felt light and heavy at the same time. His youngest was alive. And, he hoped, he was going to see him again soon. He turned towards his wife, planning to tell her about his vision, but she was already awake, staring at him with a teary smile on her face.

"I told you he's alive," she whispered and Touga couldn't help, but grin at his beloved.