The Moon and the Sun

Disclaimer- I do not own Inuyasha. I only own the sun-inuyokai's, got it?

I'm baaaaaack… :grins manically: Sorry this took so long to put up. I've been in this weird funk lately.

Chapter 4 – The Fruit Loop Monkey

Hotaru was a very light and uneasy sleeper. She shifted often and awoke briefly whenever someone moved around, whether it was Jaken adding more wood to the fire or Rin getting up to the "call of nature." Sesshomaru couldn't tell if her sleeping pattern was due to her recent transformation or normal for her. Then again, it didn't really matter to him so he didn't bother asking.

She woke again, suddenly, sniffing the air. She rubbed her eyes, pushing sleep away. "Do you smell that?" She asked. He looked over at her puzzled face. He couldn't smell anything. "Something about a half-mile downwind from here. It smells like," she made a face, "Oh, gross, it smells like an old monkey skin or something." She coughed a couple times and pinched her nose shut again. "Damn, I can practically smell it rotting, and it's moving towards us."

He frowned slightly, though it was hardly noticeable. "Downwind?" She nodded, making him frown even further. How could she smell something that far downwind? Any distance downwind for that matter. Not to mention that they were currently in a cave and even he couldn't tell which way the wind was blowing. It must have to do with her being one of the sun clan… He decided.

She didn't go back to sleep, however, instead staying up with him and watching the cave entrance with narrowed eyes. She kept her nose pinched shut. After several minutes, she spoke. "The rotting skin is nearly here, and it's making me very uneasy. Do you have any idea what it is?"

Sesshomaru lifted his head and delicately sniffed the air. He growled. "Naraku."

"I'll assume he's not a friend."

A few more minutes passed and a figure in a white baboon skin, accompanied by a number of bizarrely large bees, reached the mouth of the cave.

"Lord Sesshomaru." It said.

"Naraku. What do you want?" Sesshomaru said, drawing Toujikin. He was already standing.

"Oh, come now," the baboon skin puppet that was Naraku said smoothly, "I merely noticed another scent accompanying you and decided to see what worthless creature you've adopted this time."

Sesshomaru growled, but nearly started when Hotaru was suddenly standing next to him. Her arm was wrapped around her middle and she looked like she was in a lot of pain, but she spoke anyway.

"Look, I don't know who or what you are or what you're doing here, but let me tell you, I am not worthless. Nobody but nobody calls me that. Now, do you think you could leave? The smell of that thing you're wearing is making me sick."

Naraku fixed his gaze upon her golden figure. "Hm, she's a pretty one, isn't she? Fiery too. I am Naraku, my lady. I've never seen a being of your likeness before. Just what sort of demon are you?" He said, extending an arm toward her.

"Hey, hey, HEY! Touch me, monkey boy, and I'll castrate you, got it? Shouldn't you be in a mental institution or something? Where I come from only fruit loops wear shit like that. Stay away from me. Have you ever heard of a bath?"

Naraku growled angrily, thoroughly pissed. "Disrespectful wench!" A thick, brown tentacle shot out at the woman. She leaned over just in time for it to miss her head. He arm lashed out and grabbed the fleshy limb in her claws.

"You bastard! Golden Touch!" She said heatedly, then immediately looked surprised at what she had said.

As soon as the words had left her mouth, a streak of gold quickly began creeping its way up the tentacle and over the Naraku puppet, which was very alarmed. Within moments, it was encased in gold, unable to move, then softly exploded into dust. The bees zoomed away. Sesshomaru stared at Hotaru. Hotaru stared at her hand.

"What did I just do?" She asked, more to herself than anybody.

Sesshomaru sheathed his bade and walked back inside the cave. "You killed a demon." He stated simply.

Hotaru looked over the ashes, then at her hand, then at Sesshomaru. She walked after him. "Wait, wait, hold on a second." She called stepping into his path. "Just, help me out here for a moment, because when I woke up this morning I had brown hair, blue eyes, and was human, alright? This is really big and really sudden." She paused and took a breath. "Okay, so what exactly did I just do to him? I mean, I just touched him, said that phrase…and he died? Is-is it magic or…?"

"No." Sesshomaru said calmly. "It's one of your demon abilities. Each one is unique to the individual. You have your 'golden touch' and I have my poison claws. Now go sit down. You aren't well enough yet."

The teenager gave a small "oh" and obeyed. Knowing that she would not get any more sleep that night, she reached into her book bag and pulled out the book she was currently working her way through, The Silmarillion. Hotaru was not the type of person to fight against the current. She went with the flow, no matter how strange it was, taking whatever cards were thrown her way and it gave her a neutral outlook on many different outlets, which was probably why she was so relaxed about suddenly being in Japan and a demon. She didn't spend her time wallowing in the past or worrying about the future and she didn't have much care for material possessions unless it was a pen and paper or one of her beloved books. Whatever was going to happen was going to happen and she didn't struggle against it. If she was going to die then she was simply going to die and she wasn't the kind of person who was going to waste their time trying to change that, instead making the most of what time she had.

So it was that she was so immersed in her reading that she didn't notice the sun come up or realize that Sesshomaru left the cavern or move when Rin started saying her name.

"Hotaru-sama? Hotaru? Hotaru-sama… Lady Hotaru…" She waved her hand back and forth on the other side of the book. Hotaru still didn't look up. She put her hand on the book and pushed it down "Hotaru-sama!" That got the woman's attention. Her head snapped up.

"Oh! Hello, Rin!" She said, slightly startled. She looked over at the entrance of the cavern. "Morning already? I didn't realize…"

"What are you reading?" Rin asked. "It must be good, I said your name a lot of times."

"You did? Sorry, it's a habit of mine. This book is called The Silmarillion, and yes, it is very good. I'd read some to you, but I don't think you'd understand it yet. The writing style is very old and complex." She chuckled. "I couldn't even get past the first chapter until I was fifteen! I think you'll have to be a little more well-read before you can understand this."

Rin's eyes were large and wide. "Wow, it must be a hard book."

Hotaru nodded and glanced around. "Hey, where are Lord Sesshomaru and, um, Jaken? Did they leave?"

"Oh, they went to get Ah-Un!" Rin said brightly.

"Ah-Un?"

"Our two-headed dragon. He's going to carry us. Lord Sesshomaru still doesn't want you walking around yet."

Hotaru shook her head with something akin to disbelief. "A two-headed dragon… Okay then, if you say so." She bookmarked a page and tucked the book away in her bag. She would have to continue it later.

Slowly, she pushed herself to her feet. Every muscle strained stiffly against her. Never before had she ever felt so weak. In the end, Rin had to help her stay standing. Painfully, she managed to limp to the entrance of the cavern, into the morning sunlight.

Her legs felt like lead, and her book bag certainly wasn't helping. How had that happened? How had she gotten so stiff so quick? She didn't try to answer that question, an explanation wouldn't make things any better anyway.

She froze solidly when Sesshomaru and Jaken came into view, staring stupidly at the two-headed dragon. She shook her head slightly, catching herself quickly. Rin left her side and ran up to the creature, leaving Hotaru to lean against the rocks in order to stay upright.

"See, Hotaru-sama? This is Ah," she pointed to the right head, "and this is Un." Hotaru nodded in understanding. The small child climbed onto the dragon's back. "Come on!"

Hotaru bit her cheek and pushed herself away from the rocks, attempting to walk toward the small group. She frowned at herself, arm curled over her tightening stomach. She did not like being like this!

Weak and tight muscled, her legs gave way beneath her after several steps, and she fell forward with an almost inaudible gasp. Months of harsh but soft beatings from the Foam Fighter's club kept her from crying out any louder. She threw her arms out in front of her, ready to take the impact that never came. She opened her eyes and twisted in someone's grip, their hand firm on her waist. She looked up into the amber eyes of the yokai lord.

"Wow, you're fast." She said. "Um, thank you."

"You are still very weak." Sesshomaru observed, pulling her upright. He kept his hand firmly on her waist, letting her lean on him.

"Yes. Though… the pain is different now than it was earlier. I think my body's settling now instead of changing." She explained. "Damn. I hate being weak."

Sesshomaru stayed silent as he guided her over to Ah-Un. Allowing this girl to lean on him was certainly something he wasn't used to, and the contact was strange to him. If she wasn't what she appeared to be, he would never even considered doing what he was right now. Until her clan came to claim her, he was going to have to act…kind.

Oh, Kami, he hoped that wouldn't grow on him.

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Ha ha! The title of the chapter is so funny! I don't know where I came up with it. Oh no, I'm laughing at my own joke. Bleh. If you haven't read The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien, you ought to. Amazing work. That is, if you can understand it.

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