Disclaimer, on everything 'Inuyasha' that I, a fan girl, do not own, sadly. (Tear)
Last time: "Master Inuyasha, Lord Sesshomaru. I-I'm afraid I have some terrible news…" Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes and kept his claw on the Tokijin, and Inuyasha remained curious. Myoga sweat dropped and added the following silence as a dramatic opening. "We are not where you think we are, I'm afraid…That is…we are...uh…"
He looked up slowly to them and only dared to look Inuyasha in the eyes before looking back down at the bed to say, "We are no longer in feudal times, my lords. We are...actually…five hundred years into the future…"
------------------------------------
Chapter 10: Of Men and Their Demons, Part Three
Atop the highest shelf in the kitchen, there stood a very frightened and shivering demon flea, afraid to even show his face anymore. He knew he had tried the best he could to help his Lord's two sons out, but somehow managed to fail them at the same time. Only he could have messed up that big, sending his lords five hundred years into the unknown future. Boy, did he deserve to die at their claws. Thankfully their canine noses were always incapable of sniffing out his whereabouts, and for that he would sing fifty saint kamis' each night for a whole month. A small tear on his lower left sleeve was the only sign left of his fierce confrontation with his lords and the truth.
He remembered how he had managed to cover a whole half millennia of information in just under sixty seconds, trying to give a good reason for his lack of inept servitude.
It just wasn't his fault.
But he couldn't say that, now, could he? Instead, he crammed information upon information after dropping the five hundred-year bomb shell on them, purposely leaving them no time to respond with a swing of the sword. The fight with Naraku; the reason for his master's bodies feeling a sting (while being transformed into mutts); Kikyo's braveness for allowing them to maintain life instead of killing them off as Naraku had wished and to his disgrace; the last words the great miko had said to him, the very heroic flea, before perishing herself; the notes, the instructions, the power she left in the flea's hands in order to bring her most dear lover back to life and the hundreds of years it had taken to make all this possible.
Myoga knew he had sweat buckets full of sweat when saying all this, and to think he had just begun.
"So you're saying we're stuck here now!" Inuyasha whined. Sesshomaru had long gone retrieved his claw from the Tokijin. That trick always did get him what he wanted from his minions.
"I-I'm afraid so," Myoga barely replied, glad that he had made it through half the story without being killed or questioned yet. But what he feared the most was the fact that Sesshomaru hadn't said anything yet. Yikes.
"Damn it. Damn it all!" Inuyasha started pacing back and forth in the room, finally facing Kagome who remarkably looked so much like Kikyo. He'd ask about that later.
"You," he pointed out, as if disgusted by her presence.
Huh! What! M-Me?" Kagome jumped up, frightened.
"Yeah, you. Take us back, you wench."
"Uh…M-m-lord'…"
"What is it, flea!"
Myoga ducked, shivering. "W-well…you see…uh…" He inhaled another big gulp of air and stated the rest of his tale.
The awakening from the deep slumber that Kikyo had left the three in-- in order to await the time when the Shikon Jewel emerged once more into the world so they were secured their well being and a true chance at returning back to normal; and Myoga, being the first to awaken out of the three. He described as plainly as he could their time as dogs, without the harsh, degrading and embarrassing details, just in case the lords decided to kill him then.
The girls were astonished at the miraculous feats and story they were being told, and the brothers remained motionless and quiet until Myoga finished. For some reason neither could remember anything from their time as canines, but could still recall their time as demons. The flea had said that Kikyo herself had no idea what her magic could do to them once the incantation was made, and thankfully only their resent escapades were the only thing missing from their memory. Myoga was very much grateful for that, remembering all the things they had gone through and gotten into when in dog form and skipped a few 'minor' details when retelling their time as mutts.
The only thing he really let out was their being captured and taken to the pound on various occasions, but that was mainly it. He did, though, mention their obvious dissipating intelligence over time, but glad his masters hadn't killed him yet until he arrived at the part in the story where he had met with the girls and had done a few 'things' in order to perform this operation in bringing his masters back to their former selves again.
The main point encircled the importance of the Jewel, it being the ticket to their 'freedom', and that Kagome was their only hope for using it who, to their dismay, didn't even know she had it in her, literally.
Trying to even up the mood if only a bit, Myoga closed his eyes as he had finished, "Because Kikyo couldn't prevent being controlled by Naraku somewhat, she made your transformation possible, because it had been an order. But I believe that it was your last words of love towards her, Inuyasha, that permitted some of her spirit to awaken and in doing so she did the only thing that she could do; she used the power of the Jewel to create a haven for the both of you until there was a way to bring you back to your normal selves."
"Oh… so that's what happened; you two were being transformed back again into your normal selves!" Rin had exclaimed, rather joyfully, speaking about the recent storm in their house.
Kagome had whispered into her ear, "Define normal."
Rin looked at her friend. "But Kagome, don't you believe that this could all be true!"
"Come again, my dear, delusional friend?"
"It's just like in the fairy tales, Kags! But instead of kissing some frogs and getting our princes, we got lords! Think of the possibilities! We're actually in the presence of royalty, here! At our house! In our rooms, Kags! And you can read between the lines, if you know what I mean…"
Kagome was astonished. Here they were at the mercy of two super-powered killing machines and all she could think about was getting hitched. And with that kind of mind, Kagome wondered why Rin had never had a boyfriend before.
"They're royalty, alright, Rin. But of the demonic kind—meaning who cares! They'll eat us or torture us eventually!"
"What do you mean?" Rin asked innocently.
Kagome sighed. Thank goodness she knew her handful of history, or they'd both be in deep bacon now. "Do you know what demons eat, Rin?"
Rin thought for a bit, her finger placed on her lips. "Um… Steak?"
Kagome exhaled at her naive ness. Sure Sesshomaru had eaten steak as a dog whenever Rin made him that, but now that he wasn't one anymore…well…
"They eat--"
"Hey," Myoga interrupted, "we don't need to get into specifics here, ladies. But I assure you," he nodded, knowing all too well Kagome's knowledge of demons and how barbaric they could be, "my lords aren't like that at all."
Kagome wasn't even half convinced. "Right… So, what will they eat, then? Dog food?"
"Stop calling us dogs like we're some kind of animals, you wench!" Inuyasha growled.
"You're only half demon, half breed, so I doubt you have a say in this," glared Sesshomaru.
"'Half breed'?" Rin asked again.
"Half human, half youkai," Myoga replied as fast as he could before getting into deeper waters.
"Grr! I'm curious you'll be saying that when your cut in two!" Inuyasha wielded the Tetsusaiga and transformed it, making the girls pin themselves against the wall in horror.
Sesshomaru wielded his own sword. "You won't have the time, once I'm done with you."
Myoga hopped in the middle of the two on the ground, trying to end anything before it even started. "Please! Not in the house! We'll all be destroyed!"
A Second later he'd wished he hadn't put himself in the Inu-youkai crossfire, for Sesshomaru sliced at him in anger and Myoga's miniscule life soon flashed before his eyes. "Incompetent fool!" would be the last words he'd hear coming from his unsatisfied older master, who he'd devoted his whole life to serve.
"Nooo!" a very sorry flea wailed, as he felt being disintegrated into nothing.
Inuyasha yelled, stupefied, "Idiot! Don't kill the ass!" But it was too late. Myoga was no where to be seen.
"Damn it all! See what you just did! He's dead now and we have no way of getting back thanks to you!"
"You're both insolent fools," Sesshomaru snickered.
"Eep! You actually killed the poor guy!" Rin both asked and screamed astonished. "Poor thing!" She received a cold glare from the corner of the lord's eye. Perhaps she was next?
"I'm…I'm…Alive!" Myoga started sobbing like mad, his face buried in his four hands.
Inuyasha and Sesshomaru both looked down to see that the flea somehow had survived the swing and was now on the floor in between them, unscathed except for a tear on a sleeve. Before anyone could say anything, the flea figured, "It must be the power of the Jewel! The Jewel saved me from being obliterated into smithereens! Thank the kamis!"
And that's how everyone figured out that they were stuck inside the Jewel's barrier, unable to leave the house, unable to kill anyone, and unable to be unstable as they'd usually been.
But that didn't mean they couldn't try, right?
The next thing anyone knew, Sesshomaru's eyes had gone blood red, his bangs starting to float effortlessly. He'd had enough of all the nonsense and incompetence of everyone sharing the same room with him and was transforming. His jaw began to widen, and Rin and Kagome held each other now tighter than ever, shivering, while Inuyasha raised an arm to block himself from the immense waves of air that swam through the room, fighting with the sheets.
But fate had a different plan in mind, and the inu youkai received a surprise jolt of lightning and purification stings all over his body, making him growl in agony and finally fall down on the floor, taken down from the blast.
No one knew what to say to that, and they could only watch as Sesshomaru's eyes fluttered open, his body remaining motionless for three seconds until they saw him get up with a slight hint of baffle on his face that even the girls noticed. Then growling, he opened the room door and went out in a furious manner. Being the smart one out of the brothers he had found out in that short amount of time that he couldn't take his anger out on anybody physically, like he used to, unless he'd take the chance at dying. What a disgrace to his very soul, if he had one. Hadn't he been under the damn Jewel's spell, he'd have chewed off everyone that very moment and blasted a hole through the door to leave instead of turning the knob like he did. And though he was far from letting himself be under the mercy of a young, human girl and her trinket, he'd soon find the chance to do away with both of them, only once his life was not at stake.
That was what really separated him from his hanyou brother. Sure he'd never let someone get away with dishonoring him, but he wasn't a fool. He'd just have to wait for the right time to take revenge, which seemed like an eternity, even for a demon.
And it was at that same time that the household reasoned the cost of the Shikon's power; every time the Jewel was activated, Kagome was left breathing heavily and clasping her aching chest again, still weak to control it.
It seemed the youkais would be going nowhere for a long, long time.
Rin decided she take Kagome to the kitchen to give her some water to drink. As Kagome used Rin to sustain herself upright, she panted under pressure, and almost dropped to her knees when she noticed Sesshomaru had taken a spot in their living room, leaning on the wall, eyes glaring deadly at her as she passed by. Obviously he thought this was all her fault.
Rin noticed him too but was too worried about Kagome to think about him for a while and both girls inwardly and unexpectedly appreciated Inuyasha coming in after them, seating himself on the couch. Even though the Jewel was apparently powerful enough to hold back his older sibling, he'd take no chances and serve as guard dog for the women, the idea of Kagome being his only chance of getting back home to Kikyo again never leaving his mind.
Myoga had disappeared soon after that.
---------------------------------
Kagome had gone into a drinking frenzy, gulping down anything she could find in the kitchen if only to get drunk; not like she'd done it before, but she'd heard it was supposed to make your troubles seem like petty things, if only for a few hours. And now more than ever she wished she'd have a can or two of alcohol, for once.
Meanwhile Rin's mind never stopped recalling her time with Sesshomaru as her pet, and after some time, she'd realized something quite important.
If the two demons had changed in body, but not in mind, that meant that the hairy, pawed, cold-nosed form of her companion was no different from his new one if his heart were the same. Sure, now he seemed to want to kill everyone in the house and was twice as tall and brandished two sharp swords, but he was still the same she had come close to, right?
She'd come to love him in a way she didn't expect as a dog, and seeing him like he was now, suffering from a past unknown to her, she just couldn't help but think it was her duty to get on good terms with him again, if only to discover what it was that made him such a lonely and mysterious creature.
She just hoped he'd at least give her a try. And this 'Jewel' of Kagome's gave her the security that she shouldn't be as fearful of him as she felt now, to her pained heart, since it protected her from him harming her. Nonetheless the thought of him, her Sesshy, harming her after all they'd gone through, was devastating.
She'd just have to remind him of their love for one another.
Not that he'd call it 'love', but, it was a start.
Rin looked back to where Sesshomaru was, still looking outside their living room window. He seemed so neglected there, all alone. It was like nothing that had just happened to her that day meant as much to her as him—now that he wasn't even her dog anymore, she still felt like they both held a sort of bond between each other.
Sesshomaru felt a change in the air inside the room and turned his gaze behind him to catch her eyes resting on his face. He didn't know why this human made him feel so much. How could she? He'd care less about any of them, but not this one. He couldn't quite remember why she was so close to him in the first place, and even when Myoga had spilled the beans earlier on he still couldn't let himself come to believe it. That I, Lord Sesshomaru, have come to such an end as to 'feel'? And for a female human, no less? That is preposterous! What a disgrace of his character and blood that was!
He was attached to this human in such an alien way to him, and he found that thought to be quite sickening.
Rin maintained her gaze upon his eyes and he did the same, waiting when his own would eventually scare her off. But it never came. Instead, she seemed to walk on air as she glided toward him, surprising Inuyasha and Kagome who were left speechless. What was Rin doing? A question she herself didn't know, but felt that she should do.
She came to him and stopped once she came face to face in front of him, her eyes still locked onto his intently, her head looking up. Sure she felt a bit…afraid, for some reason she pushed behind the far corners of her mind, but she still wanted to know…
Sesshomaru's demeanor changed a bit once his right eyebrow arched, but his eyes remained as cold as ever as he inquired, "Do you have a death sentence, mortal?"
What came next almost made him gasp. Rin smiled. And not just any ordinary curling of the lips, but a warm smile. How dare she! The lord felt so humiliated and yet…a tinge of pleasure, if one could call it, at the same time. Here was the only being he had ever come across to oppose him in such an enlightened manner, and he didn't even think of brandishing a sword, or a claw. Not that that could get him anywhere, anyways. Instead he felt like taking his rage out on something else, and not on her, if only not to harm her frail, little body.
Her eyes seemed to be the only thing he could remember intently without having need of anyone to recall the last few months for him. He just needed to see those eyes…and she was the only thing he wouldn't-not think about—or care for.
Sesshomaru growled and whispered, "Foolish humans!" his eyes closing in frustration and the words escaping his clenched fangs. Had she no respect at all! He instantly turned away from her and headed towards the apartment's front door to exit the room immediately. But because he was so enticed on how Rin made him think so much he was greeted with a light pink shield in front of him. Right. The miko accidentally trapped them there. Great. Feeling slightly embarrassed he walked over to the hallway and went into the only room he was familiar to: Rin's.
The girl was left saddened some and she slid down the wall, drawing her knees to her chest as she hugged them once she fell to the floor. She had mixed emotions now, and didn't want to deal with them anymore. How did she come to this? One second she was brushing his fur, the next he hated her guts.
Wait-- that's it! She noticed, suddenly. After being transformed back to his normal, youkai self, he had asked her to keep brushing him again. He had liked being brushed! So there was a good side to him, after all! It was just hidden away deep inside, somewhere, for some reason.
She'd find out just what reason it was.
Inuyasha feh'd as soon as his brother disappeared behind the wall and mentally cursed at the stupid barrier that kept him from getting as far away as possible from his older half sibling; and killing him, of course. What other relation existed between the two?
And what's worse, Myoga had left somewhere as he always did when sensing his life was in danger, so he was stuck with the worthless humans who knew not what to do with the powerful Jewel everyone sought out and would kill to have.
What a pathetic ending for such a priceless gem.
Thinking about it, the hanyou would actually kill the flea if and whenever he decided to come back, if only to take his anger out on the most defenseless thing he could get his claws on.
Kagome looked at him from the kitchen and in her heart she felt sort of sorry for what he had gone through, having the truth thrown to his face just an hour ago. Having lost a love, a fight, and a whole lifetime in the only place he could call 'Home', it being the past, and having proof of living his life like an animal which most likely ashamed, disgraced, dishonored and humiliated him in any and all possible ways. But what could she do now?
After a while she noticed him staring at a chew toy intently, and watched bewildered as he picked it up, examined it on all sides, sniffed it a little and then squeezed it, making it squeak before biting into it. He stayed like that for a while before taking it out of his mouth, licking his fangs to wash away any taste it left behind in his mouth, and toss it aside. It landed next to him on the couch and bounced, squeaking again. Inuyasha then crossed his arms and closed his eyes, seemingly pleased from his test, a serious look in his features.
Kagome cocked her head to the side, amazed at his resemblance to her dog. Not only did he have those adorable ears perked up on his head which always made her drawn to tweak them all day, but they still twitched from time to time, just like they always did.
He was, in a sense, cute. He'd always been cute.
She smiled when he had thrown the toy away, remembering that that was his favorite dog bone he always liked to play with as a dog.
I guess that, in heart, demon or not, they're still dogs, she lost herself in thought.
That's when it hit her. She knew she would hate herself for this, but a strange feeling had been bothering her for some time now, only she just barely figured what it was at the moment. She was the only person who could help them out, whether she wanted to or not, so her kind-hearted soul had no other choice.
Besides, it was only time before the no-killing-zone-type shield turned off, so she might as well get on the human-devouring beasts' side while she could. She had Rin to protect.
"Rin," she called for her. "We need to talk."
The girls met in the kitchen and whispered as low as they could, trying to be as discreet as they possibly could with their conversation. But it wasn't like a pair of demon dogs couldn't help but listen to it with their super-human hearing, which the girls hadn't yet caught on to.
"It's not like we can go to the F.B.I. or something; they'd never believe us," Kagome pointed out. "And it seems we are the only ones who can 'help' them out, even though we have the faintest clue on how to, so we have no other choice."
"We should win a Nobel Peace Prize for this," Rin nodded. How she could always maintain a sturdy, humorous optimism on every unhopeful situation, Kagome would never know. Then again, that's what she admired about the girl the most. But she knew she'd have to remind her to stop feeding Sesshomaru for a while, if she knew what was good for her.
"Oh my gosh!" she screamed. "I forgot!" What, in fact, would the two demons eat! It wasn't like they sold deep-fried human legs at the supermarket! This wasn't going to work out. That, and thousands of more insane difficulties that stood between the two species and worlds that were, literally, centuries apart from one another.
Sighing, and giving in to it all before the third world war erupted because of the two strangers in their home, Kagome turned herself in to the impossible—and frankly, the inevitable.
"We're keeping them, Rin."
As soon as her little mind registered what her friend had said, Rin jumped up and down like some one who's just won the lottery.
"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh! I love you, Kagome!" She squealed and hugged her friend to death and Kagome wondered why the Jewel wouldn't protect her from that.
Kagome held her chin up on her hand, elbow lay on the table. Before she would get caught up in one of those meaningless conversations with Rin again, she added dully, trying to level up the mood a little, "If it weren't for movies with werewolves, vampires and Frankenstein monsters building up the notion of the possibility that anything is possible in my head, I'd never think this possible." Kagome then realized she had used the word 'possible' too much in that sentence. Boy did she wish she were wrong about it.
Rin laughed, getting into the idea. "And aliens."
"Talking dogs."
"Talking bugs," Rin added, to Kagome's grief.
"Know what? I kinda hate 'A Bug's Life' now…"
Rin laughed. "What about 'Back to the Future'? Or 'Blast From the Past'? We couldn't have come to a sane, logical explanation for the abnormal and past-futuristic things happening to us without their help?"
"Rin," Kagome muttered, "I lost my sanity hours ago."
Rin laughed. "Ooh! And what about 'Lord of the Rings'! You know, with its pointy-eared, hunky elves and all, right? Right?" Rin nudged her with her elbow, sheepishly.
Kagome's head suddenly popped up at the realization of the depth of her naïve little friend's comment.
"Rin…don't tell me you…No—wait. Your not even thinking what I'm thinking your thinking, are you?" she asked, afraid to be right.
"What?" Rin replied, bobbing her head to the side.
"Oh no…This is going to be harder than I thought…" Kagome groaned and let her face hit the table. Not only would she have to keep Rin from feeding the demons, but from falling in love with them as well.
That would certainly bring disaster.
No that they weren't caught in it already.
--------------------------------
If you have questions about anything, let me know. This three-chapter adventure was harder than I thought, and I didn't want it to come out confusing…as much (believe me, I couldn't sleep for weeks trying to pull it off right). Anyways, ask and I'll answer. And sorry 'bout the tardiness; when I'd finally finished the chapter, the site wouldn't post it up for days.
Important: Since writer's block is a definite turn-off, for both writers and readers alike, I'm stating now that all ideas are more than welcome (just in case I'm stuck again). I can't promise anything, but you will have credit for anything of yours I use. (Meeko, thanks for getting me out of the 'killing Myoga' idea, lol) And I'm more than happy that we got out of this 'transformation' subject, so I can get on with the best part of the story:
How to teach old dogs new tricks. XD!
So Read and Review! And thank you for joining me in this weird and exciting adventure so far. Things are only going to get better from here on.