Max Chapter 3: A noble sacrifice, an Inuyasha + Max Crossover fanfic

Max – Chapter 3: A Noble Sacrifice

~ Kitty

May your hands always be busy
May your feet always be swift
May you have a strong foundation
When the winds of changes shift

May your heart always be joyful
May your song always be sung
And may you stay
Forever young

- Bob Dylan, Forever Young

Several trips back and forth through the well and things began to settle into a rhythm. True to Inuyasha's prediction, Max had an uncanny intelligence when it came to battle. The old war dog alerted them of danger and did his part, and he had a realistic understanding of what he brought to the table and did those things well. He was quickly becoming a trusted, reliable new member of the team and the village children loved him.

They were back at camp now, Max happily chewing on the limp body of his latest kill. The shibugarasu had attempted to steal into their circle as a wounded traveler, burrowing into the body of an unlucky merchant. Inuyasha and Max could both tell that something was off but Inuyasha's prayer beads and Kagome's liberal use of them prevented the dog hanyou from taking action and so it fell upon Max to reveal the evil lurking underneath. Kagome was trying to apologize to Inuyasha for her actions but the dog demon was having none of it, brushing her away and taking off into the night.

Dejected and unhappy, Kagome squatted down next to Max, watching him as he crunched the demon's bones in his jaws.

"Is that thing tasty?" Kagome asked, doubtfully. Max didn't seem to mind the flavor, but paused in his activities because Kagome was looking at him, and because she seemed distressed. Standing up, he walked up to her, snout twitching as he tried to determine the cause of her sad expression. Kagome smiled and gave the dog an ear scratch.

"At least I get to pet your ears," she murmured to the dog, finding comfort in the touch of his fur.

Having been unable to locate any physical ailments, Max nuzzled close to Kagome, pressing his warm body against her underdressed one. He licked under her chin and over her nose and whined.

"It's ok boy," she said, laughing and grimacing at the same time. Demon guts and marrow still streaked his otherwise handsome face and she didn't savor the idea of having it rubbed against her cheeks.

He stopped licking her and simply looked into her eyes. She returned his gaze and sighed.

"You're a good boy," she said, "Such a good boy."

When dinner was served and consumed, and the half-demon hadn't returned, Kagome decided she would go searching for the wayward hanyou. Both Miroku and Sango discouraged the idea.

"He'll come back when he's ready," Miroku stated, "and he wouldn't like you wondering around at night here."

"Houshi-sama is right, Kagome-chan," Sango said with some concern, "We haven't found the demon that plagues this area."

Kagome sighed, gazing off into the darkness. "That's what I'm worried about," she admitted, "What if it's too much for him to handle on his own?"

Shippou crawled into her lap, patting Max where the dark head rested on her knee.

"Yeah, Kagome," the little fox spirit said, crossing his arms and shaking his head with mock wisdom, "He's just being a grump. Jeez, and he's supposed to be the mature one."

The girl still wasn't convinced and she glanced down at the calm presence pressed against her knee.

"What do you think Max?" She asked. The dog raised his head, gazing into her eyes, intently trying to discern what she wanted. She smiled at the dog.

"Let's go find our favorite half dog-demon."

Sango frowned with confusion but said nothing and Shippou hopped out of Kagome's lap with a little huff, moving to snuggle into Kirara's fur. Miroku sighed with a crooked smile before cautioning Kagome not to stay out for too long. Kagome called back to let him know she heard before disappearing from sight into the forest.

…

The forest was silent and eerie as they walked. Max could sense her anxiety and stayed close, using his nose to scout ahead where he would ordinarily be. Kagome had come to rely on Max significantly, using his body language as an indicator for how she ought to react to nearby threats or sounds. So when the sleek, dark shape paused and would not move forward, she scanned the surrounding undergrowth with her flashlight, nervously seeking out what had alerted her dog to stand so still.

A flash a white and red caught the light and then he was before her.

"Oi, wench, you shouldn't be out here by yourself."

Kagome swallowed her yelp of fright and glared at the dog boy crossly.

"I'm not by myself, I'm with Max," she argued, "Just how long are you going to keep sulking? We're all worried about you."

Inuyasha harrumphed and spoke sarcastically. "Oh sure. I'm sure you're all fucking worried."

Kagome frowned and sighed. "What's wrong with you? I apologized already, didn't I?"

"Keh."

"Look, I'm sorry. I didn't realize the traveler was being controlled by a demon and that I didn't trust your judgement. Are you happy now?"

Something inside him snapped at this latest apology. He rounded on her and ignored Max's light growl of warning to yell into her face.

"Yeah fucking right you don't trust my judgement. How long have we been stuck with each other on the shitty quest? How many times have I had to save your sorry ass? But no, I'm the impulsive, dirty mutt that gets even less regard than that."

Inuyasha pointed a rigid finger at Max and the dog was rather tempted to nibble on the offered appendage. Kagome was breathing shallowly, her initial response to the verbal assault was to push back. But something held her back this time and somewhere in the back of her mind, a soft voice told her to listen. When he paused for breath, she tried to soothe the irate boy in front of her.

"I don't think you're a dirty mutt," she said softly. Inuyasha sneered at her denial.

"Keh, yeah you fucking do," he growled, "You immediately trusted Max's reaction to the fucking crow but decided to 'sit' me into a fucking crater when I tell you something's off."

"I-," Kagome started to say. She cut herself off when no defense of her actions sprang forward to absolve her of his accusation. Inuyasha shifted uncomfortably when he saw how his point dawned on her and then the look of guilt on her face made him feel guilty. And then he was angry with himself for feeling guilty. And angry with her as well.

"Inuyasha… I'm-," Kagome started to say.

"Don't fucking say anything," Inuyasha said sharply, "I don't fucking wanna hear it."

He turned to stomp off, feeling rather satisfied with this particular encounter. He was preparing to make a dramatic exit when a soft hand found his and prevented him from leaving. He was about to tell her off and yank his hand back when the girl moved forward to wrap her arms around him.

And then he smelled the salt of tears.

And he felt horribly guilty for making her cry. Even if the reason for his anger was justified. Which again, made him even more irritated with the situation.

She pulled back after a breath or two, her eyes still spilling over. She took a deep breath and looked into his face.

"I know saying sorry isn't going to help," she said weakly.

"Keh, no shit."

"And I know I can't promise that I'll always trust your judgement from now on."

He snorted and looked away. He froze when he felt shy fingertips against his cheek, gently returning his gaze to hers. It was as if she knew the power that intimate gestures from her would do to him and he felt his resolve to hold onto his grudge slipping.

"But can you forgive me if I promise to try?" Kagome asked him, her eyes boring holes into his soul.

Inuyasha almost groaned in frustration. Those wide innocent eyes haunted him, even in his dreams and he knew he would have to forgive her. Finally he sighed and gave her a slight nod, feeling inexplicably happier when her guilty, worried face brightened into a genuine smile. Beside them, Max seemed to relax as well, sensing the conflict between the two of them had abated. Kagome was just about to catch his hand to bring him back to camp when a loud rustling was heard nearby and both canines immediately felt their hackles rise as they turned to face the newly emerged threat.

Things happened very quickly. A large reptilian shape rose from the foliage and roared loudly into the night. Inuyasha quickly shoved the girl behind him, drawing his sword and advancing on the monster.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome's voice called to him. "It's got a shard! On it's hand!"

The next moment Inuyasha found himself barely parrying said hand as it tried to crush him into the ground. Max was barking loudly and Kagome could vaguely hear shouting from their campsite and prayed the others would get there soon. Preferably with her bow and arrows.

The creature's other hand lashed out and Inuyasha shouted her name. A flash of brown and then a warm, lean body fell against her before sliding to the ground. Kagome didn't have enough time to react because the demon swung again and she was barely able to call up a barrier before the claws made impact. It slashed down at her again, and then again, and just once more before it broke through, a frightening large claw raking down her torso from shoulder to hip.

The scent of her blood incited him, gave him an extra boost of strength and then it was over as the others joined them, the creature's doom sealed by a combination of the tessaiga and Sango's hiraikotsu. And then a whine from beside her and the bottom dropped out of her stomach. She fell to her knees beside the panting body and Inuyasha joined her, silently handing a brightly shining jewel shard before turning his attention to the dog.

ALTERNATE ENDING NUMBER 1!

"These wounds are deep…" There was something strange in his voice that caught her attention and made her heart stop. Max made a gurgling whine and drew her attention to him. She sniffled, drawing in a rough, shaky breath.

"Go on," she whispered, "Find my papa. Tell him I love him, and that I think about him often. Find papa, and be at peace."

Her tears were free flowing now as she pulled out a single arrow from her quiver. She bit her lip so hard it bled, dripping down and mixing with Max's. The silence was thick and eerie in the clearing and her friends all held their breaths, witnessing the scene quietly. Inuyasha came forward and helped her position the arrow's point. Her whole body trembled and she was grateful for Inuyasha's strong, steady hands. He looked up at her, and she paused for a moment, staring deeply into his eyes and drawing strength from his. Then she nodded.

In unison, they thrust the arrow into the dog's chest. He gasped, and flinched, and relaxed. Brown eyes closed and then Max sighed.

Kagome stayed there for a long time, stroking the sleek brown face. The body was stiff and cold and still she couldn't bring herself to stop. Inuyasha stayed nearby, watching over her while Sango and Miroku tried to be as minimally intrusive as possible while dressing their wounds. Her tears were long dry by the time she could bring herself to look up. Inuyasha returned her stare with golden, concerned irises that both understood, and silently comforted. He approached her then, gently lifted the soft, dark body from the ground, and they walked silently back to the village together.

ALTERNATE ENDING NUMBER 2!

"No…" she whispered, both to the dog and her companions. "No!"

The tears in her eyes made her vision blurry and she glared at the red and white blob that was Inuyasha.

"We have to try!" She cried, "We have to!"

She saw Inuyasha process this, saw him hesitate and for a moment she was afraid he would deny her. But when his eyebrows drew together and his lips set into a thin determined line, she knew he agreed with her and would do everything in his power to save her father's dog.

"Sango, Miroku, take care of Kagome." Inuyasha then turned to Max, and with more care and gentleness than anyone had witnessed from him, he lifted the dark, bleeding body and disappeared into the sky, racing back to the village and to Kaede's healing herbs.

It was a long night, and turned into a long morning. Kagome and the rest hobbled back into the village at dawn and hastened to Kaede's hut to check on Max's condition. The long morning became an afternoon and finally, Kaede heaved a sigh and looked up into the concerned faces.

"He just might pull through."

…

"C'mon Max!" Kagome's voice rang through the air and two tall, pointed ears perked up. Stiffly, a dark body raised itself and trotted unevenly over to its master.

The old ease of movement and graceful lope was no longer present in the creature. The battlefield had finally claimed his usefulness and there was no place in battle for him anymore. But he still accompanied her to the strange new place on the other side of the well.

And when shard rumors or dangerous missions drew her away, he would remain, faithfully guarding the home she would return to. He romped with the old woman as she gathered herbs, allowed the village children to pet and feed him, alerted the men of danger, and greeted the shard hunters when they returned. He found a new purpose, assimilating into village life and offering a silent, sincere strength when the wearied travelers needed someone to lean on.

One day, he will greet death. He will return to the side of his master and they will keep watch over her together. But that was not today and he pressed close to her, treasuring the time he had remaining and placing his trust in the future that he had helped protect.

And when our time together is done and you move on in the world, remember me with kind thoughts and tales.

For a time we were unbeatable, nothing passed among us undetected.

If we should meet again on another street, I will gladly take up your fight,

I am a Military Working Dog.

We are the guardians of the night.

~ excerpt from Guardians of the Night, often recited for fallen MWDs.