Chapter 13: The Mystery of the Lost Cat
"No way! Crimson vigilante! Crimson vigilante!"
"Eh?" Souta?! What's he doing here? Inuyasha was too stunned to realize he should've run away from the rapidly approaching group of kids. He had just been out stretching his legs since the sounds and scents in the dorm were getting overwhel- patrolling. He was parolling, like a superhero oughta. He figured as the crimson vigilante he'd be able to burn energy quicke- he'd be able to cover more ground.
"I knew it! It is you," one of the boys, Souta, stated.
"Souta, you shouldn't approach strangers. He could be a fake," one of the girls, Hitomi maybe, chastised him.
"It is him! He reminds me of my inu-nii-san, big and strong!" Shit! Wait, double shit! Are he and Kagome, can-can he sense my youki?
They didn't seem to notice his concern. The other boy finally spoke with a snarky attitude, "big and strong isn't good. He's a stranger." Inuyasha thought something was a little odd about that kid. He had copper hair and green eyes. But that thought didn't have time to latch on.
Souta looked a little dejected, "are you gonna hurt us Mr. Crimson?"
"What? What gave you that idea runt?" Inuyasha shouted, the absurdity of the question making him totally forget his plan to try and disguise his voice if he had to talk.
That cheered him right up. He was already too used to Inuyasha's behavior, "so you'll help us?"
"With what?" he asked warily.
"My cat went missing yesterday and we were looking for him."
Buyo's missing? I'm surprised Kagome didn't mention that. "And what do you want from me kid?"
"Help us find him! My gramps says you're a menace, but everyone's been talking about you helping people! So that means you're supposed to help me find Buyo." The logic of kids.
"Ugh it don't work that way kid. Finding lost cats isn't really my thing."
"But you're always spotted on rooftops! You gotta be able to see a whole bunch from up there." Souta paused. "C'mon, if not helping people then what is your thing?"
I don't know, but not finding dumb cats. He sighed. Then again Kagome is probably upset if Buyo is missing and it shouldn't be too hard with my sense of smell. "Fine. Just this once brat."
"Awesome! Follow me, I'll show you where I live." He ran off.
"Wait, Souta, are you sure that's a good idea?" the girl called while running after him.
I need to warn Kagome to give him lessons on stranger danger. I don't want to have to track him next time.
"Don't bother. The rain washed away the scent." Huh? It was the snarky kid. "Assuming a half breed is even capable of tracking."
Inuyasha looked at him for a moment. "That's what's off with you! You smell of fox. But you don't got any youki." A seal. "And I am plenty capable of tracking!" Seeing the two kids getting further away, he left it at that and ran after them. He figured the fox would follow, and knowing the brat was youkai, he didn't need to be too concerned for his safety.
It only took a couple minutes to arrive at the shrine, he hadn't even noticed how close he wandered before. But the closer he got, the more an odd feeling washed over him. Seeing Souta stopped at the stairs to the shrine, he continued the last little distance. That is until a sudden wave of pain rushed over him, causing him to fall hard. What the hell?
"Hey you ok vigilante?" He must've blacked out for a second because Souta was suddenly standing over him.
"I just tripped, that's all."
The girl commented, "it looked like you face-planted really hard, you sure you're ok?" The fox kid was quietly laughing.
"I'm fine!" Actually everything still hurts. Need to change the subject. "So your cat was here?"
That got Souta's attention, "he likes to lounge on the steps here. The last time I saw him was when I was coming home from school yesterday. But he never showed up for dinner! Buyo is always there for food."
Inuyasha sniffed the air. I've never smelled Buyo before, but I do know the general scent of cats. There's only one strong smell of cat here, so it must be Buyo. He looked around trying to place where the cat had traveled, but the scent trail he could catch never left the shrine property. He frowned.
"I told you it was useless," was the fox's reminder.
"Don't say that! C'mon vigilante. Can't you go onto the roofs and look around?" That's like looking for a needle in a haystack. But still, the scent was bothering him. The fox wasn't wrong, the rain made everything weaker, but to him it wasn't gone. He could smell the cat, just not having left the property. Taking a look at the house, he decided to follow his instincts and started ascending the shrine steps. "Ah yah! The shrine's an awesome view." Well if following the scent didn't work, he supposed that was true too. He just wasn't expecting walking up each step to feel like he was agonizingly fighting a hurricane. "You ok? For someone who likes rooftops you seem rather out of shape on these steps." And the fox kit was still laughing!
He wasn't an idiot, even he could figure out by this point that it was the shrine affecting him. It just hadn't before because he was under his seal. No doubt that was why the kit was ok, although he had to wonder if the kit really felt nothing being a pureblood. Or maybe he was trying to hide his discomfort too. The closer he got to the main house, the stronger the cat's scent got. And it was still fresh. Having made it all the way there, he sniffed once, twice. Yep. His body was still in complete agony, but he started climbing the house, trying to hide his youkai strength. Not that that was hard in his current condition. "C'mere you dumb cat." The stupid fuzzball was on the roof. And if Souta was right that he had been missing meals, then most likely the cat was trapped. Or at least clueless to how to jump down until he was desperate enough. But as he got closer, Buyo hissed at him. "Hey cat, I don't like this any better than you do." The shrine was getting to him though so he gathered his strength and made one speedy leap towards the cat, like a predator catching its prey. "Gotcha furball!" As well as scratches all along his hands. Holding tight onto the cat, he leapt off the roof, landing very clumsily.
"Buyo!" Souta was happy.
"Woah, you found him." The girl had been very skeptical the whole time. The fox kit looked like if he had a tail, it would be between his legs in embarrassment.
Since he didn't feel a point in holding onto the scratching cat, he let it go. Buyo immediately ran away and into the house. Souta laughed, "looks like he's more excited to be able to get food than to see me."
"Keh! That's cats for ya, no loyalty." Seeing no reason to stick around in immense pain, Inuyasha headed for the steps. "See ya kid."
Only once he got all the way down and a few steps away did he hear the kid call out while also running down the stairs, "wait!"
He just wanted to curl up in bed, but at least the pain had now left, leaving only an ache, "what is it kid?"
The kid caught up with him and smiled, "I just wanted to thank you properly Inuyasha."
"It was nothing, now if you'll exc-" Wait what?! "What did you say?"
His smile grew, "I wanted to thank you Inuyasha. I didn't know you were a youkai. That's so cool. Does sis know? Who else knows you're a vigilante? Why'd you become a vigilante? What powers -"
"Souta!" He didn't know what to say. He just wanted the kid to stop talking. "How did you… how do you know?"
"It was so obvious! You look a little different but not too different from up close, and your voice is the same. You even talk the same. You said Keh."
He didn't know how to answer that. "Look, you can't tell Kagome, or your parents."
He was confused, "why not?"
"Because… because you know Kagome- she's overprotective. And…the old man would purify me." Unfortunately, he knew Souta was chatty. "Promise me you won't say anything. A man-to-man promise."
"Alright. A man-to-man promise, I won't say anything. But you gotta tell me, what's it like being a youkai? My family talks about them all the time, but I've never seen one, or I guess I have."
Inuyasha smirked, "what about that friend of yours? The other boy?" Go bother him.
"Huh? You mean Shippo?"
"That his name? Yah, talk to him about it."
"But why would, wait, IS HE A YOUKAI?"
"Quiet down kid, we're on the street."
They both looked around, fortunately not seeing anyone. "Sorry."
"Look I gotta go, and your shrine ground stings."
"That's why you fell," he realized.
Inuyasha winced at that embarrassing moment, "see ya".
After hopping straight onto a rooftop he heard Souta call after him, "Thanks Crimson Hero!"
Hero? He didn't realize he was smiling.
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Kagome POV
"Welcome home Kagome, I'm glad you could make it. Dinner's just going on the table," Mama called out.
"Be right there," Kagome answered. "That smells delicious."
"I'm glad you think so, I spent all day cooking. Souta was supposed to help."
"Supposed to?"
"I was out looking for Buyo," he defended. "He was stuck on the roof apparently."
"Wow, how'd you figure that out?" asked Kagome.
"I ran into Inuyasha and he helped out. He must've spotted him on the roof or something."
"Inuyasha came by?"
Souta nodded. Mama commented, "I wish I had known he was in the area. I would have asked him to stay for dinner, but I was out shopping when he was around."
Gramps snorted then. "If you ask me, it's a good thing you weren't here when that hoodlum came by."
Kagome sighed, "How many times do I have to tell you gramps, he's a college student, hardly a hoodlum."
Gramps just rolled his eyes. It was an eternal argument. For some reason gramps has just never liked Inuyasha. "Anyways, we're probably lucky that the boy found Buyo so quickly. It could've been bad if he had been exposed to the youkai."
That was news to her. "Youkai? What youkai?"
"We're not sure. The shrine's barrier was triggered earlier, about the time your friend was here. I've checked the grounds, but I haven't found a single trace."
Well that's hardly a shock coming from gramps. She sighed. Guess I'll get to check the grounds after dinner. At least Souta's charm should've protected him if the youkai tried anything. But Inuyasha would have been vulnerable. Wait. Gramps said they were here at around the same time. Maybe? That's not good.
"Kagome, where are you going?" She didn't receive an answer.
Kags: Please tell me it's almost done.
Roku: I assume you're referring to the subjugation beads?
Kags: What else!
Roku: Calm down. What has you panicked?
Kags: Yash set off the shrine's barrier.
Roku: Any chance it's purified for good?
Kags: Can't take the chance.
Roku: I'll contact Kaede. Prob 1-2 days.
Kags: Tell her to hurry.
Author's Note: Speaking of Kaede, go check out the story I posted featuring Inuyasha and Kaede. It's currently a one-shot, but I might build it more if there's interest. It had been a thought demanding to be written, but just trying to stay focused on one thing at a time for now. Till next time: enter Naraku.