Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. Even if I did, I'd prefer Sesshomaru, hehehe…

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Chapter Two: Two For the Price of One

…The Present…

A week had passed since that talk in the diner, and Kagome and Rin had visited a couple of pet stores already. Rin had been nagging Kagome to go to one ever since that day, and so far they hadn't been pleased. Every time they decided to visit one they knew, either the pets were too costly or their health was seemingly poor. Not to mention the horrible hospitality that they had been given. Kagome wasn't too shaken by this, since she didn't really want a pet in the first place, but Rin was devastated. Not only were her dreams of having the greatest pet in the world slipping away each time a pet store had turned her down, but everything was giving Kagome reasons to say 'I told you so'—that pets were too much trouble and, if just buying one was such a hassle to begin with, she could only imagine having to put up with one.

Myoga, on the other hand, was happier than the girls. At first he almost fainted when he had found out that Kagome wasn't Kikyo. He then scolded himself for mistaking a priestess from five centuries back to a witty young girl from the modern age. It was so obvious that Kikyo would have been dead by now, yet he had ignored the thought completely. Still, he had no time to waste if he were to save the guys from being put to sleep—although he could easily bail them out again, and this time it would be much more difficult since the pound had put them inside better fortified cages because of their mysterious breakouts, Myoga had to get them off the streets if he were to prevent them from getting caught again before he found a way to break them off the spell.

And that's when it hit him. Literally.

Myoga had followed the girls to their dorms—that's how he slowly realized this girl wasn't Kikyo—and just a few days spending time with them—that is, spying on them while they bathed and changed—a flyer was tossed in the air and had fallen right on top of him in one of the rooms. Rin had been searching for pet stores to visit and so had many flyers and papers at hand, and once Myoga read the flyer about animals being sold inside a store, a devious grin appeared on his face, knowing this would be the easiest and more affective way of getting the girls to accept the guys into their home, just as Kagome passed by, stepping on him.

After he had put himself together he started to come up with a plan. Even though Kikyo wasn't here, he still needed Kagome. He could tell that she had the Sacred Jewel inside of her, though how she did, however, was still a mystery to him. The Jewel was a key tool he needed. He knew that coming up to the ladies and telling them that Kagome held some sort of magical power inside of her, that she needed to use it to 'save' the world (if it really did need saving) and that a curse had been put on two powerful youkais from 500 years ago and that they needed to be turned back to normal, all the while this information being told by someone like himself, a flea with feudal era clothes on, really didn't sound like a good idea.

So he tried the next best thing; make the girls adopt the boys. The fact that they were looking for pets helped him swell, but he would have to somehow bring the guys to a pet store before anything else could be done, and it had to be done fast. Taking them to the pound was out of the question, since the ladies wouldn't even consider it.

Myoga made sure he had a flawless plan first, and then arranged to bring the boys to the nearest store he could take them, then gave the girls little hints here in there of where they should go. He would talk to them in their sleep, speak out loud in the house mentioning the store they ought to go to as if he were a voice in their heads or a messenger of the gods (though that only managed to freak them out, thinking he was a ghost or a mad man who had entered their home) and wrote the name of the place in places he knew they would look at. So when Rin had come out of her hot shower one night and glanced at her mirror, having a pet store name jotted down on it because of the steam, she flipped out and finally decided to go there. When Kagome had found out about it she too secretly wanted a guard dog to guard them against the many abnormalities that were making her house seem haunted.

Kagome and Rin now stood in front of the infamous store they were oh-so-told about, staring at the big, neon letters of its name.

"NATURE'S LITTLE MIRACLES…hmm, Interesting…" Rin was the first to speak up as she noticed Kagome getting a little nervous about going inside.

"Alright, let's get this thing over with." Kagome turned to face Rin. "Rin, if this turns up to be another swamp-thingish, dung heap of a pig-sty, I'll just cut this whole 'pet thing' off!"

Rin shrunk at her comment. Ok. So maybe Kagome's not nervous…Just ticked off… Rin then thought of a way to make Kagome change her mind. She instantly made a puppy face, watery eyes, mouth and all, and she started whimpering.

"Oh no, that won't work on me, lady!" Kagome shook her finger at her. "It's gettin' old, ya know!"

Rin then stood properly and snarled. Drat. It had always worked before…

They had finally stepped inside and what they saw amazed them beyond their expectations. The place was more like a mini- forest, with it's own little water fall in one corner. There were plants everywhere with tiny flowers popping out, the floor was brown and was made up of something similar to gravel, a butterfly or two flickered around and some of the caged birds had been let loose to wonder about from the tree-like shelves. Rin and Kagome gasped. Certainly not like the other stores they'd been to.

Myoga, hiding behind one of the counters, sighed in relief. After all his work, he managed to bring the girls to the right spot. He designed the place himself and had taken care of the employees, as well as making sure the girls were the only ones to be visiting the store at that very moment.

He then chuckled. I kind of feel bad for those other stores, though. I had to fiddle around with them in order for the girls to avoid buying anything else. But it was fun, I have to admit, hehehe…and while worth the effort if it'll get my masters to live with this priestess.

Kagome and Rin were busy looking at the displays for the pets. Oddly enough, there were hardly any animals in them, if any. The birds they saw were only the ones flying wild throughout the store, and the rest they managed to spot where either exotic, or very high-priced. Besides them, there were weird-looking fish, turtles, millions of reptiles and bugs. Myoga had done this on purpose too. Especially the bugs. He knew Kagome detested them.

As Rin gaped at every creature, pointing at them while asking Kagome if she could have 'it', Kagome would just look away and cover her mouth, a little close to hurling.

Finally they had made it to the cats and dogs section.

Kagome then ran up to where the cats were, enlightened to see more of the cute little 'Buyos" she could witness. Once Rin came over, though, Kagome's face had been covered in shock and detest.

"Are those cats…naked?" asked Rin, trying to lighten up the atmosphere. She pointed her finger at the skinny cats, tapping gently the glass. They had no fur whatsoever, except on the points of their ears, and were a pinkish-brown. Without fur, their skin shown every wrinkle the cats had and as they moved around a bit, intrigued by the young women's stares, they made the wrinkles move around slowly.

Kagome shook her head, still speechless. Even thinking about having something like that around her house was seemingly disgusting. (No offense, cat lovers)

"Aw, so you've seen the hairless felines, eh?" a squeaky, male voice asked. The girls turned to meet a young, acne-faced, red head man, wearing the store's apron. "So, what do you think? Cute, eh? They never grow their fur and, if hand-fed daily every tow hours, they live to be about six weeks." The man smiled warmly at the two, as if he had just introduced them to a new car.

Myoga, having learned a thing or two from his, ahem, flea fiancé from the feudal era, almost let go of his hold from the young man's skin, an inch from losing complete control over his body as he couldn't help himself. Surely the girls wouldn't want a cat now…

Before Rin could open her mouth, Kagome instantly grabbed her arm, leading her out the door. "Come on, Rin, there are no good pets around here."

Rin stretched her hand towards the cats as if she were a child in a candy store. "But we haven't seen the puppies yet!"

Kagome just kept pulling on her. "Believe me! If they're anything compared to what we've seen so far, I doubt they'll be anything but cute!"

Rin yanked her arm back, making Kagome stop on her tracks. "Look, Kagome; we've seen each and every store so far no matter what. If you're going to pressure me on making a decision or even prevent me from buying a pet, then I'll just have to…" she trailed off, not figuring out what it was she could do. It was Kagome's apartment and Rin was staying there because she was a friend, and whatever Kagome said, had to be done.

Kagome looked at her, almost daring her to continue her sentence. "Or you'll what, Rin?"

Rin was cornered. Surely she would lose everything, not just the pet.

Myoga, sweating hard since he noticed where the conversation was going and knew it would be catastrophic for him if the girls didn't take the guys here and now, jumped in, speaking through the young man's voice again.

"L-ladies, ladies. Forgive me if I am being rude, but may I suggest meeting the dogs? I promise they will be to your liking; they are the best breed we have—in fact, the only ones we have. If I or the store's likeness has offended you in any way, then I can even offer you a discount on your choice." Still having complete control over the human, he made the boy smile, and made him hold his hands in a tight grip, as if about to beg and plead for them to stay down on his knees.

Rin was excited. "Did you hear that, Kagome? They're good breeds! It wouldn't hurt to check them out. Besides, it could work out better than we thought if there's a discount!" She slipped past the puppy-face trick knowing it wouldn't work, and then jumped on Kagome, giving her another one of her butt-kissing bear hugs, adding, "If we go, I'll clean the house for a month!"

Now Kagome wasn't top of her class for nothing; she was smart. And though Rin hardly helped out around the house and her offer seemed intriguing, she knew better.

"Rin, stop butt-kissing and let go. We'll see the dogs, but if there's so much as a hairless spot on them, we'll leave, pronto!"

Rin gave her a last, quick hug and kiss on the cheek before letting go. "Oh thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you! I promise; the house will be sparkly clean!"

Kagome put her hands on her hips. "Oh no. We'll stay so long as you take back your offer. I'd rather have a messy house than have you clean it."

Rin just smiled back, and then went running off to find the canines.

Myoga silently thanked Kagome for reconsidering her decision, heading towards the guys. This was getting a lot harder than he thought. He'd have to come up with miraculous ideas for this to end up good. He still had a lot more to do.

Kagome took heavy steps after him, ready to leave. She came up to Rin who was sticking her nose to a glass window near the floor, all happy and cheery about something. She squealed once Kagome came to her side, screaming, "Kagome, look! Look!" she pointed at a dog that reached just below Rin's waist in height when it stood properly.

The first thing that Kagome had noticed was the size of the 'cage'. It looked like the rest of the cages of the store—unwired, cream-colored hard wood material—but it was huge compared to the rest. It was long and wide enough to fit six dogs this one's size comfortably and high enough to fit any person inside comfortably, too. Everything was made of the same cream-colored material, except for the wall they faced that was entirely made up of glass.

Kagome then looked at the dog, a bigger one she'd expected to have in the house, yet didn't think about it once she began to study it carefully. It was completely covered in fur—thank God—and wagged its tale like mad when it saw her coming. Its fur wasn't white, exactly; more of a silverish, snowy tone, which was to her liking. It was a little puffy, but still, cute. Once she continued to look at his well-toned legs and clean paws and nails, it barked at her, as if impatient.

Kagome then looked into its eyes, and was marveled at them. Never had she seen eyes like those; where they… golden? She never thought an animal could have such eyes, and if they did, never imagined a dog having them. They were intense and seemed as if they glowed and had her staring at them for a while, believing they were ones that had much to tell and yet looked a bit sad, as if they had seen some sort of lose.

Rin blinked strangely at Kagome, who had maintained a fixed look on the dog for a while now. For someone who claimed to hate dogs, she acted too fond of that one.

Myoga smirked. Surely this girl had to be the reincarnation of Kikyo or some kind of descendent of hers, if she was so enticed with Inuyasha.

Rin didn't bother asking Kagome what she thought of the dog, because it seemed pretty obvious. All this time she stared at it, while the dog huffed and showed his tongue a bit, then licked its lips, then stared back at her with its mouth shut.

Rin, almost forgetting the whole 'male dog' talk, finally came to ask, "Is it a girl or a boy? And what breed is it?"

Myoga, almost choking on her question, tried to think quick about which breed his master was. Surely he had to be of one, but he knew not which one. Telling her he came from youkai ancestry was out of the question, so he just came up with something he thought was convincing enough. He cleared his throat with nervousness; if he messed this up, she could back down.

"Ahem, well, he is called master Inu- I mean, Inuyasha, and is of a new breed that just came out recently." He looked at Rin, hoping she bought it so far. He knew nothing of pets or common dogs, unless the subject was just how sweet their blood tasted, nor did he know anything about the wide-world of selling, so he just had to wing it and hope for the best. He continued after receiving no response from her, "…and they are quite loyal to humans,' ok, that was a lie, but still, "and are great companions," another lie there, "and are quite energetic," well, if you count the whole 'love to sword fight' thing…

"If you'd want a dog, these are the right ones for you!" he finished, putting another happy face on. Surely that wasn't so bad…

And to think Myoga knew nothing of salesmanship. All he had said were lies.

Rin made an 'I see' face, turning to the dog once more. It was very cute, and the name 'Inuyasha' seemed pretty nice for it.

Looking towards Kagome's face she gleamed with joy as she felt as if Kagome would finally let her have that one, since she was stilled so fixed on it. It wasn't a very small dog, yet she jus had to approve of it.

Getting a little uncomfortable with the silence, though, her eyes roamed the cage for anything else interesting. All she found were two food dishes, two water dishes, and a soft-looking, beautiful white bed in a corner. A thought came to her instantly. Why would it have four dishes?

Then she remembered what Myoga had said. "Are there anymore dogs? I thought you talked in plural when you talked about this one."

Myoga, more than pleased she had asked, for a bit more and they would have left with only Inuyasha; he had forgotten about Sesshomaru for a second there. He looked for the other dog, hoping he hadn't left the cage, since the girls apparently didn't see him in it.

Finally, relaxing, he answered, "Why yes, there is. His older brother, Sesshomaru. He's right over there, in the corner."

Rin followed the man's finger controlled by Myoga, who had pointed towards the corner where the soft bed was laid down.

"Huh?" Rin shrugged. Surely the dog couldn't be there, if the bed…

Rin gasped silently. There, in the middle of the soft, white heap, she swore she saw something moving. As it did, she then noticed that the heap wasn't white, but silver—just like Inuyasha's fur. As the heap kept moving up and down very slowly for some time now, she then realized it must be the other dog, asleep, it's back facing the glass wall. And what was moving must have been it breathing!

Rin put her nose to the glass again, a new grin on her face. Surely this dog must be as cute as the other one.

Not wanting to really wake him but involuntarily tapping slightly on the glass, she waited to see if it would awake.

Nothing.

She tapped again, this time hoping it would turn to face her, at least.

At that instant it moved, scarcely, and Rin could see it move its tail lightly off the ground, away from its body. Its head, originally facing the corner where it slept, lifted up with the same, slow movement its tail had moved, turning around completely, facing Rin.

Rin instantly let out another gasp; this other dog was as beautiful as the first one, but had fancier and shinier fur than it. Another difference was its perfectly shaped crescent moon on its forehead, which puzzled the girl since no canine she knew of could have had it.

A new breed indeed, she thought to herself.

Taking a quick look at its jaw, she spotted a soft-colored pink on the curves where its jaws connected, which also seemed to woo her. Moving her sight towards its eyes, though, made her fall into the same trance that Kagome had fallen into with the other dog.

After a mere five seconds of staring at each other, though, the dog backed its sight away from her as if he could care less that she was watching him, and arranged itself for another doze.

Rin immediately got up, and almost scared Myoga as she did it, while exclaiming, "I'll take him!"

Kagome, finally diverting her gaze from Inuyasha while receiving low whimpers from him in return, looked over to Rin. "What? This one?" something in her voice made her sound as of she actually wanted Inuyasha to come home with them, forgetting that she was supposed to hate having a dog in her house.

Rin, a little confused, said, "No, this one." She pointed towards Sesshomaru.

Kagome, just realizing the other mutt, complained, "But why not this one?" pointing towards Inuyasha, making him bark and wag his tail uncontrollably.

Rin blinked at him. He was cute, but Sesshomaru caught her attention the most.

Myoga, noticing the rising tension, jumped in. "I-if you want, you can have them both!"

The girls turned to the young man and asked at the same time, "What?" Rin asked because she would prefer to have both, of course. Kagome's reaction was more of like 'are you kidding me?'

Myoga cursed his tongue, for it seemed he never said anything that helped out lately, and dug in deep for an answer.

"Well, th-they're brothers…and you wouldn't want to take them apart now, would you? They're almost inseparable!" Of course, this being another ironic topic, he tried to mind it for the situation demanded cold-hearted lies.

He continued, "A-and the discount! Tell you what… If you buy either of them, the other is free!" Talk about desperate.

Rin gleamed again. "Really!"

"Uh-huh. Of course, hehe!"

Kagome stepped back a little. "We can't have two dogs in the apartment, Rin. One's enough!"

"But Kagome, they're two for the price of one! That's a terrific deal!"

Kagome kept finding ways to defend herself. Though Rin respected and followed her orders much, she could only go so far as getting her way. "Yeah, but they must cost a fortune!"

Rin looked to the young man with desperate eyes. "How much do they cost?"

Myoga, again, forgetting the important details the girls might have wanted to know and hadn't prepared for them, calculated. Humans just had to have a price on everything. Let's see… if dog food is… and a leash and food dish and… well… um… He decided to go safe for this one.

"H-how much do you youngsters usually pay for a dog?"

The girls were surprised. Not only because of the 'youngsters' thing, but because no good salesman asked their client what they'd pay for what ever they were selling.

Rin, caring more about getting the dogs, said quickly, "Well, I've seen the cheapest ones around 400 dollars (American money), but it all depends on their breed. Some go up to thousands of dollars."

Kagome, a little reluctant now that she priced them too high, asked Myoga, "But why are you asking? You're supposed to know how much they cost." She just knew something was afoot. The dogs were no-good, probably, and the man could be ripping them off.

Myoga, frantically looking for an answer, replied, "That's just the thing; since they are a new breed, they cannot be sold too highly. W-we're, uh, starting to make a name for them!" He exhaled, fond of his answer.

"Than how much do they cost?" asked Rin, making him jump again.

Myoga made the boy rub his chin as in thought, buying some time. He then came up with, "Well, for you ladies, I'll give them to you for 250 dollars." He hoped that was a reasonable amount, yet not too dissuading.

Rin beamed. "250 dollars!"

Myoga sweat dropped. Maybe he had gone too far?

"That's great!"

Myoga almost fell back. "Huh? It is?"

Rin cheered. "Yeah, duh! It's an incredible price for such wonderful dogs—and it's for the both of them, right?"

Myoga didn't hesitate. He nodded, "Yes, yes, of course!"

Kagome shrugged, thinking this guy was pulling their leg. "I don't know… I bet they're cheep for some reason…"

Myoga shook his head like crazy. "No! It's nothing like that! I just want you two to enjoy them, that's all! I love these dogs, and I just know you'll be fond of them! Promise!"

Rin pleaded with Kagome, holding her clasped hands in front of her, taking her head down. "Please, please, please, please, please! Kagome! Just look at them! There so cute! You couldn't just leave them here, could you?"

At that instant Inuyasha whimpered again, this time putting his heart into it.

Myoga was amazed at his behavior; it was as if Inuyasha had understood their conversation, and the brothers hadn't shown clear understanding for days now. They were all dog, except for minor prior youkai characteristics, which were now dim.

Kagome turned toward Inuyasha, who now jumped up and put his paws on the glass window, high enough to touch Kagome's shoulders. She felt sorry for him as she heard him whimper again, putting a hand on the glass as if she were touching his paw.

Inuyasha barked, and started licking the glass where here hand was.

Kagome smiled. The dog was beautiful and seemed to like her a lot. She had to admit; Buyo wasn't this energetic.

"Please, Kagome?" Rin asked in a sweet tone, unlike her usual butt-kissing schemes.

Rin opened up a warm smile, "He seems to like you."

Ok. Maybe a little butt-kissing wouldn't hurt…

Kagome turned her head towards Inuyasha once again, where he had stopped licking the glass and just prodded his knows at it instead.

He then licked her again, but this time, he seemed sadder.

Kagome felt guilty for the first time ever about a dog. She began to think to herself while observing Inuyasha. Sure she…hated them…

Inuyasha whined.

…because they aren't like cats, not at all…

Inuyasha licked her once more.

…dogs are messier, louder, and more energetic and demand more attention than cats…

Inuyasha looked at her in the eyes with glistening, golden orbs, and sat down, tall and sad.

…see? Just like this one. And surely cats don't show this much emotion…

Inuyasha turned his head slowly to his right, lifting his left ear up and whimpered softly.

…certainly not this much emotion…

She stared long and hard at him, trying to find a flaw with him, but couldn't.

…Dogs are…

Inuyasha lifted his front paws in the air and barked, and then made two low whimpers again.

…cute…

Kagome bobbed her head to the right side, and Inuyasha followed her, bobbing his head to the left.

…and…cute…

Kagome did the same thing again, only to the left side, followed by Inuyasha to his right.

…and…so cute!

Rin, a little lost here, asked Kagome again. "So, can we keep them? Please?"

Inuyasha stood up to Kagome's height and barked softly.

Kagome had never seen such an intelligent display. It's as if the dog understood them and knew she wanted him, but she was a little hesitant at acknowledging the fact that she actually liked him.

"It'll be a lot of work, Rin. They're so energetic."

Rin clasped her hands together. "Yeah, but it'll be fun! We could use the exercise!"

Kagome half-smiled, touching the glass again where Inuyasha's head was. "And they eat a lot. We'd have to buy tons of food, not to mention all the toys and everything they need."

"I know, I know, but look at them! Look at him, Kagome! He really wants you!"

Kagome's smile stretched, and Inuyasha licked her hand from across the glass. "And we'd have to take them for walks, wash them, train them, not to mention take them to the vet. We'd have our hands full with them. And it'll cost a lot to take care of them."

Rin almost got to her knees, seeing that Kagome was just an inch away from agreeing with her. "Yes, yes! But it'll be fun, and so worth it! I promise! Please, please, please, Kagome! And they're so cute, too!"

Myoga was feeling a little uncomfortable about his masters being treated as if they were animals, but what could he expect? They looked like them. All he could hope for right now was for the girls to take care of them while he managed to get the rest of the things ready for their transformation. Even though it wouldn't be wise to tell the girls who they really were right now, or for a long time, for that matter, he knew that any seemingly warm-hearted person holding the Sacred Jewel would just have to treat them well. Besides babysitting the boys for him, he'd have some time off for a change. All he needed was Kagome's approval, it seemed, and everything would turn for the best.

At that moment the older, taller dog had moved from its corner and had turned to face Inuyasha. Seeing what he was doing with Kagome, he then moved his gaze towards Rin, who looked at him intensely.

Rin walked over to the glass and put her hand to it, and the dog sat down in a high, proud position. Its fur was more beautiful than Rin had noticed before, but then again, so was Inuyasha's—just not as silky and voluminous as this one's, though.

The dog looked strait at Rin, and she at him.

Sesshomaru didn't show any signs of emotion like his half brother did, but Rin just smiled.

Myoga, hoping to receive a good answer, asked, "So, will you be taking them? I'm sure you two will give them a good home."

Rin turned to face Kagome who was smiling at Inuyasha.

The older roommate turned to face the young man, and with a short chuckle, asked, "One question; are they potty trained?"

Rin jumped onto Kagome, hugging her like mad. "Oh Kagome! Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Kagome smiled at her and lifted a brow. "I didn't say we could keep them just yet." She faced the young man again. "So, are they potty trained?"

Rin held back a little. Uh-oh. If they're not, we're doomed. She looked at Inuyasha, who was still looking at Kagome, then looked at Sesshomaru who had completely sit on the floor, front paws in front of him, his head held high, mouth closed. His eyes were still and he barely moved his tail. Still he managed to make Rin fall for him.

Myoga sweat dropped, for one, he wasn't sure what 'potty trained' meant, and two, somehow he figured the boys weren't.

Kagome, growing a little impatient, yet just a tad bit uncaring whether or not the guys peed wherever they wanted to, since they were so adorable, asked again, "Well?"

Myoga started to tremble. This was it. "Um, well, uh…"

Inuyasha barked and wagged his tail merrily.

At that instant a stream of yellow liquid fell from his underside, making everyone sweat drop and making Sesshomaru back away, growling in protest.

Hoping that wasn't what the girls had meant, Myoga continued, "Well, uh…"

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Disclaimer: I've never heard of a place called 'Nature's Little Miracles' before, so if there is, I don't own it. But if there isn't, I guess I've come up with it. : )

Anyways, hoped you liked it! I couldn't leave out just how the guys and the girls met for the first time, so here it is. Until next time!

Next chap: Do You Believe in Magic?

Review!