Disclaimer Part I: The characters of Inuyasha belong to Rumiko Takahashi, but this story belongs to me. Aster and Dayandhi also belong to me. As unlikely as it would seem at first glance, this is a continuation story, not AU.

Inuyasha: A Fugitive Fairytale

Chapter Six

Dang Dog Demons

"This way, Kagome! There's a dog demon this way!"

The miko trudged through the park in the direction of the tiny melodic voice. Her excitement of finding the dog demon had faded over the last few days. The little brunette and bespectacled fairy, Pepper, kept 'finding' traces of the dog demon and had been leading them around. And around.

And around.

Pepper was sweet and cute. But she wasn't much of a tracker.

Kagome sighed, trying to swallow her irritation. It wasn't Pepper's fault that she was wandering the streets alone without her hanyou.

It was Bakura's fault.

She was glad that she had slugged him when they landed in the new world. She didn't feel even an iota of guilt. Nope. Not a trace. And she wasn't lonely either. After all, she had her easily distracted and slightly despondent fairy to keep her company. And she didn't feel guilty about that either. It wasn't HER fault that Salt decided to stay with Bakura and keep him company after Kagome left him.

How many days ago was that?

Kagome rubbed her eyes. She was tired. Her body hurt. Her muscles hurt. Her bones hurt. Heck, her hair even hurt! Oh and it itched. What wouldn't she give for some shampoo and a hot bath. And she hadn't slept since she parted with Bakura, either. A girl sleeping out in the open alone? Didn't really sound very safe. And a fairy that no one could see wasn't much protection. And FINE! Okay! She was maybe a LITTLE lonely for some human companionship. Someone who didn't talk about Sugar and Salt and Twinkles.

Pepper turned around and flew back to Kagome, hovering at eye level.

"Are you going to forgive Mr. Bakura?" she asked.

"Forgive him?" Kagome clenched her fists. "No way! It's his fault that we're stuck here! I was with Inuyasha! I touched him! He was RIGHT THERE! I had finally found him and now he's gone!"

"I… I thought Mr. Bakura was saving you from the woman with the… the… thing."

Of course Pepper didn't know what a gun was. Against her will, Kagome's anger started to disappear. It was quite possible that Bakura had saved her. But… Inuyasha was gone. He was right there. She had touched him. And now he's gone. And she felt even more alone than she had before.

"Maybe… you're right, Pepper." Kagome sighed again, this time looking around. She wondered if she should try to find the boys.

Pepper's wings fluttered and sparkles flooded the air. "Does that mean I can go get Salt?" Kagome had to blink the fairy dust out of her eyes and coughed a bit as she nodded to the excited fairy.

A smile touched her lips as Pepper disappeared from sight. She was glad that she could make her happy. Her smile faded as she continued to watch until the last trace of pixie dust was gone. It had been selfish of her to hold a grudge, especially since Pepper missed Salt terribly. She sat down on a bench to wait. Pulling her knees to her chest, she wrapped her arms around them, making herself as small as possible.

Perhaps it was the fact that she had been so absorbed in self-pity…

Or maybe it was that she wasn't of this world…

But for whatever reason, she didn't sense his demonic presence until he was an arm's length away. Her heart raced as she looked up, straight into the eyes of the dog demon leaning down and peering at her.

"Well, she ain't dead."

Kagome blinked.

Then she rubbed her eyes.

Then she screeched at the top of her lungs and jumped up so fast she stumbled onto the ground and landed on her rear. She was glad she was wearing the ninja shorts outfit rather than her skirt. Otherwise she would have been even more embarrassed. The dog demon stared down at her, dumbfounded by the reaction.

"See Amane, she ain't dead. So can we get out of here, already?"

Kagome looked up at the dog demon, furious. Scrambling to her feet she pointed at him. "You're not Inuyasha!"

"Uh. No." He eyed her warily, then whispered to his companion who hidden from view behind him. "She's nuts. Can we just go?"

A girl walked from behind the dog demon. She was tall and beautiful, with long straight hair and a regal posture. For a brief moment she reminded Kagome of Kikyo. The familiar stab of pain hit her heart, but she tried to shake it off. Was she in some twisted reality where Kikyo and Inuyasha were… together? Why oh why had she ever read so many Alternate Universe stories? Now all she could see was the similarities between this dog demon and her own.

"Hyoue, be good."

Kagome was a bit startled by the girl's tone. She had heard that tone plenty of times, it was the tone that people used when commanding their dog. She winced. It was a tone she herself had used on Inuyasha, every time she said 'sit'.

"Please forgive my friend. He has a temper."

"It must be a dog thing," Kagome smiled as she stuck out her hand in greeting. "My name is Kagome."

Amane did not reach for her hand. "Dog thing?"

Dropping her hand as casually as possibly, Kagome looked from Amane to Hyoue. "Yeah, you know, a dog demon thing."

Hyoue glared at her as he inserted himself between her and Amane. "Who are you?" he demanded. His voice carried all sorts of threats. Another tone she was familiar with. This one was the same tone Inuyasha used right before he started slicing into an enemy. Suddenly Kagome realized just how alone she was.

Flexing her hand she tried to summon a bow like she saw Kuwabara do. It was a long shot, but she had to try since her own bow was so very far away. A tingly palm is all she got for her trouble. That and an increasingly suspicious look from Hyoue.

"Leave Kagome alone!"

The miko nearly laughed. After all, the voice was very soft and musical. What was one little fairy going to do against a dog demon and a… well, Kagome wasn't sure what Amane was, but her instincts told her that she was no normal school girl.

"Do you hear something?" Amane asked Hyoue.

"Sounds… like a… harp?"

Kagome hid her smile with her fingertips. Sure enough, Pepper was playing her harp. The breeze began to pick up, fluttering Kagome's hair and skirt. Pepper played more, and the breeze turned into wind.

"Stay away from Kagome!" Pepper told them with a face that would have looked fiercely stern if she wasn't so dang cute.

The wind continued to whip around them. For a moment the miko wondered if the tiny little fairy had it in her to create a tornado. Nah… Pepper was too sweet to wreak such havoc. Besides, the stiff wind seemed to be taking just about everything out of the poor little thing. Just as Kagome was about to pluck the fairy out of the air and take away her harp/weapon, the sound of a trumpet began to blare and the sun began to shine. Brightly. Kagome shaded her eyes as the sun went from bright to flaring.

Hyoue squinted, raising one hand up to his eyes to block out the sun as the wind continued to pull at them. A button popped off of his shirt and Kagome noticed the unusual necklace he was wearing. No… not necklace… Dog collar.

"Strange weather," he commented off hand. Kagome hoped that it didn't hurt the fairies feelings. After all, they were in full protection mode.

"Are you a priestess?" asked Amane calmly, as if the weather hadn't gone wacky.

"What?"

"HEY! YOU!" Kagome looked up. There was a blur of white, then suddenly a body was shielding her from view. "Who are you? What do you want with Kagome?"

"Bakura?"

For an irrational moment she was surprised that her shield wasn't made of red fire rat fur. Then she was irritated with Bakura for not being Inuyasha. It was an honest mistake. Bakura was not known for being protective. It seemed a little strange. After all, Bakura wasn't exactly the body shielding type. He was more of the stand on the side lines and make snarky comments type.

"You okay?"

"Bakura?"

"You miss me, sweetheart?"

"That better be a quote from a movie and not an actual term of endearment," she snarled, snapping out of her shock. Then she reluctantly admitted, "But I am, just a little mind you, just a little glad to see you."

Pepper landed on Kagome's shoulder, too exhausted to play her instrument any longer. Salt flew down and sat next to her. They both looked completely wiped out. Kagome gave them a sympathetic smile and turned her attention to Amane.

"How did you know?"

Amane shrugged, then looked pointedly at Bakura and in the direction of the fairies. She may not be able to see them, but she was certainly able to sense them. "You travel with unusual companions."

Kagome's spine stiffened and she tried to reign in her temper. "So do you."

"You know what he is?" She smiled.

"Of course she does," said Hyoue with a yawn. "She stinks of dog demon."

"I…stink?" Her fists clenched. And she couldn't help it, she started to glow pink. Salt grabbed Pepper's hand and flew her off to the rather questionable protection of Bakura.

Amane bowed. "Please forgive my koma-oni. He can be rude."

The pink fire faded as Kagome snorted in laughter. "It must be another dog demon thing." She looked at Hyoue closely, but did not see anything unusual about him besides the dog collar. No cute puppy ears. "You said koma-oni?"

"Yes. My guardian demon. You have a koma-oni as well?"

Kagome scratched her head. "Well, I wouldn't exactly call Inuyasha MY guardian demon… but he does protect me."

She glanced at Hyoue's collar, then lowered her eyes in shame as she thought of the rosary around Inuyasha's neck. Amane spoke of Hyoue as if… as if he were a thing. A pet. A, well, guardian demon. Surely Inuyasha didn't think that she thought of him like that. Like a thing. He knew that… right?

"He is not a ghost," Amane said quietly as she studied Bakura, "But he is not of this world. He does not belong."

Kagome winced at the choice of phrase.

"I'm hungry, Amane," Hyoue whined.

"In a minute. Now, what exactly are you? Not a ghost. Not a wandering or lost spirit. Something is strange about your body, too."

Bakura moved close and to Kagome and whispered to her, "And she says HE is rude?" He swore under his breath about useless women.

"Amaaneeee."

"Oh, very well." She moved towards Hyoue, then stopped. She turned to Kagome and asked, "You don't mind do you? I know that your koma-oni must get hungry as well. Though Hyoue seems to be hungrier than most. I hope you will not feel it is rude if I feed him?"

It took all her effort to not roll her eyes. "Yeah, Inuyasha is hungry all the time too." She tried to ignore how it felt as if Amane was talking about a puppy. "I don't mind."

Amane reached up and cupped Hyoue's cheek. He then bent his head down and touched his lips to hers. Kagome made a squeaking sound before jumping in front of the fairies to shield their eyes. Then closed her own eyes. Peeked. Then closed them again. Bakura, however, seemed to watch the whole show.

"I think I'm hungry, too," whispered Bakura as he leaned forward.

"Suffer," responded the embarrassed miko. She moved his hand that seemed to have strayed onto her hip.

When they were finished, Kagome looked over and saw Hyoue smiling down at Amane, who had turned her attention back to figuring out what Bakura was. He seemed different. More alive. More… powerful. Energy was flickering across him. That should have been the most interesting thing about the exchange (besides that fact that feeding occurred through kissing), but it wasn't. It was Hyoue's eyes.

The koma-oni was in love with Amane.

"KAGOOOMEEEEE!"

Her heart stopped beating.

It couldn't be…

…could it?

"Inuyasha?"

"BLADES OF BLOOD!"

The grass in front of Hyoue and Amane exploded as the red projectiles sliced the ground in front of them. Kagome pushed back from Bakura and searched for her own dog demon. Bakura smiled at her then backed away.

"Inuyasha!"

"Stay away from Kagome!"

The familiar red wall was in front of her. Tears streamed down her face. Inuyasha was here! Throwing her arms around him she cried into his robes. With one hand he drew his sword, with the other he grabbed onto Kagome's hands at his waist. He didn't move them, he just held them.

Hyoue, sensing a threat to Amane, transformed. One moment he was a young man, the next he was this strange fiery creature. He seemed more lion than dog, though. Whatever he was, he was absolutely terrifying as he roared at Inuyasha. He, however, wasn't that impressed with the koma-oni's roar. He merely scoffed and removed Kagome's hands from his middle. He did, however, keep possession of one. He was about to unleash an attack when a slightly panicked Kagome tugged on his sleeve.

"Inuyasha… we have a problem."

"Relax, Kagome, I'll take care of this wimp."

"No… It's the jewel… It's gone!"

Amane cleared her throat loud enough to be heard over the growls. "I believe your companion is leaving."

Kagome looked up. Sure enough, Bakura was standing a few yards away, his form was shimmering. HE HAD THE TRIPPER! Worse. Dangling from his fingers was the tiny jar of Shikon jewel shards. He blew Kagome a kiss as he disappeared.

"The jewel shards," cried Kagome.

"SALT!"

Pepper was flying frantically where Bakura had disappeared. She kept calling her friend's name.

"He tried to get your jar back!" Pepper cried hysterically, "But he's gone now! SALT! He can't be gone!"

Kagome's heart broke as Pepper continued to cry. She called to the little fairy, who hiccupped as she sobbed and wobbly flew over to her. The miko cradled the fairy gently as she leaned against Inuyasha's warmth, and whispered promises that everything was going to be fine.

"Sure it is," agreed Inuyasha. Then he asked Kagome, "What is that?"

"She's a fairy. Her name is Pepper, and Salt is her friend."

"Salt and Pepper?" He blinked owlishly. "You're kidding."

"HEY!" Kagome and Inuyasha turned their attention back to Hyoue, who was back in human form. "Does this mean we're not fighting or what?"

Before Kagome could explain that there was a misunderstanding, she was interrupted once more.

"Kagome Higurashi," said a very familiar voice, "You are under arrest for crimes against the universal Law of Time."

Kagome caught Amane's eye as she was turning her head towards Dayan. The other girl gave her a quizzical look.

"You are a criminal?"

Kagome shook her head and waved her hands frantically. "No!"

"You have the right to remain silent," Dayan appeared a few yards behind Kagome, looking very worn out and slightly beat up, "but failing to mention any facts in your defense may be treated as evidence against you in the Court. If you wish to speak, anything you say may be given as evidence in the Court."

"Did he say Law of Time?" Hyoue looked to Amane for answers. "What in the world is that?"

"I do not know."

"A representative will be assigned to you once you have been processed." Dayan reached behind him and pulled out an odd looking contraption that Kagome assumed were handcuffs. "I… you…" He stared at the miko for a moment in wonder. "You're still here." He brightened up and took a step towards her. "Now, if you don't mind, let's get going."

"You won't touch her!" Inuyasha snarled and turned on Dayan. "And neither will YOU!"

Kagome looked around to see who her dog demon was talking to. Sheepishly, Aster poked her head (why would she color her hair THAT odd shade of yellow?) out from around a tree. She kept her weapon out and walked over to Dayan. The officer looked much less aggressive than usual. In fact, she looked downright relaxed.

"You'll come with us," Aster said confidently.

Inuyasha growled his response.

"After all, what other choice do you have?"

Ug. She had a point. With the Tripper gone, Kagome and Inuyasha had no way of escaping. Sure they could escape for the moment, but then they would be trapped in an unfamiliar land with no way of returning home. But to go with them… that would lead to jail. Or death.

"Would you like our assistance?" asked Amane.

Kagome was surprised. Just a moment ago Inuyasha and Hyoue were about to tear each other apart, and now she was offering to help them?

The young priestess stood next to the miko. "Your dog demon is more than just your protector?" She looked back at her own dog demon, then back at Kagome. "I do not understand what is going on. But I know that you are no criminal." She lowered her voice so only Kagome and Inuyasha would be able to hear. "I come from an island with many demons, many koma-oni. If you would like, you and your guardian can stay there for as long as you like."

"It is a kind offer," said Kagome, "But…"

"Yes," interrupted Inuyasha, "We can stay."

"Inuyasha?"

"We'll be safe. You'll be safe."

"But… what about home? What about the jewel?"

"Keh," scoffed Inuyasha. "Home is wherever we want it to be. And the jewel… The jewel is far away now, and it can't hurt anyone."

"Your wish…"

"It doesn't matter, Kagome," his hand tightened around hers, his voice was rough, "I can't risk losing you again. I can't."

"I'll go with them," said a tiny voice. "Then maybe I can find Salt."

Kagome felt the tiny fairy flutter her wings, preparing to leave on a quest of her own. Then the miko looked over at Amane and Hyoue. The guardian demon was just that. A guardian. She couldn't do that to Inuyasha. She couldn't live with herself if he got downgraded from friend and partner (life partner in all her daydreams) to simply a guardian. She had a bad feeling that it might just happen if they lived in a land where that was common. Would Inuyasha allow that to happen in a misguided attempt to protect her?

With pleading eyes she looked at her lovable hanyou. "We have to go."

The dog demon cursed. "Kagome, don't do this."

"We have to."

"Kagome Higurashi," Dayan said softly, "You are under arrest." He held up the cuffs warily. Kagome held out her wrists and shushed Inuyasha when his curses intensified. Pepper hovered near Kagome's head, fretting over the restraints.

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

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Amane. Realizes that Hyoue is more than a guardian. She defies her family, leading to a long and vicious battle between Amane and Hyoue against her clan and their guardian demons before she is adequately prepared. Her death is painful.

Hyoue. At Amane's death he goes insane, her entire clan is slaughtered. The demons no longer had anyone to protect and either died themselves or turned feral and began to hunt humans.

Leaving any trace of Kagome's memory here would be fatal for all.

"I'm afraid that I am going to have to wipe out your memories," Aster said. "But don't worry, it doesn't hurt."

Aster opened her mind before Amane could react, and the priestess and Hyoue froze.

"Please," Hyoue's thoughts echoed in her mind, "Please make me forget about my feelings for her."

A peek into the demon's mind let Aster know that he was worried that his feelings for the girl would compromise his ability to protect her. And she was the most important thing in the world to him. His soul ached for the pain it caused him. But, it was against the rules for her to change the flow of events.

"I'm sorry," whispered Aster as she finished wiping their minds of Kagome and Inuyasha.

For a moment, a brief weak moment, Aster was tempted to peek into the future to see what life would have been like had Kagome decided to go off to the island with Inuyasha. It was her job to bring in the Higurashi girl, not contemplate what if's.

And now she had the girl, after all this time. Her job would soon be complete. Justice would be served.

So… why did she feel so sick to her stomach?

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Disclaimer Part II: Her Majesty's Dog characters belong to Mick Takeuchi, A Little Snow Fairy Sugar characters belong to Kadokawa Shoten, Yu-Gi-Oh characters belong to Kazuki Takahashi, Yu Yu Hakusho characters belong to Yoshihiro Togashi.

My list of disclaimers continues to grow.

Author's Notes: See? I reunited them. I'm not totally evil. By the way, I love this manga (Her Majesty's Dog). I ran across it on accident in the bookstore. What can I say? I seem to be a sucker for dog demons.

Sorry it took so long to update. I was in a car accident and it has taken awhile till I was able to write again.