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 Eight
I Choose You, Inuyasha!
"Interdimensional portal?"
"Magic."
"Nanotechnology, perhaps?"
"Magic."
Kagome sat on the ground as Kurama and Inuyasha discussed the little ball she held in her hands. Well... Kurama discussed, Inuyasha adamantly chose his position on the subject and refused to budge. She suspected that Kurama was continuing to list off suggestions to irritate her hanyou. What was it about fox demons picking on Inuyasha?
"What kind of Pokemon is he?"
"What?" Kagome nearly dropped the Pokeball as the boy called Ash dropped down next to her.
"Your Inuyasha. What is he?"
"Pokemon?"
They arrived in the middle of a forest yesterday morning and met a young boy named Ash Ketchum and his strange little yellow pet, Pikachu. Inuyasha wasn't too crazy about adding another couple of members to their travels. She wasn't even sure where the boy Brock was after Inuyasha threatened his life after he propositioned her in a way that reminded her of Miroku. Well, no... he didn't grope. He held on to her hands more like Kouga did. She winced, deciding to keep that observation to herself.
"Well, sure. At first I thought it was weird that he talked," Ash laughed, Kurama and Inuyasha stopped arguing and stared at him (Inuyasha in horror and Kurama with amusement), "But I remembered that there are a few Pokemon who DO talk, like Meowth."
"Inuyasha... a Pokemon?"
"Then I thought it was weird how he was never in his Pokeball, till you told me you didn't have one. Pikachu doesn't like Pokeball's either."
"Yeah..." Inuyasha was glaring at her. "I doubt Inuyasha would like being in one of those things either. But, you see... he's not a Pokemon. He's..." There was no hiding his ears. Or his teeth. Or his claws. "Well, he's a half demon."
Ash considered Inuyasha for a moment. "A humanoid Dark type then, huh?" He didn't flinch as Inuyasha cracked his knuckles and growled. "And a Fighting type I would bet. Professor Oak will know. Maybe when we get to the next town we can give him a call. I'm sure he would be glad to help!" He grinned suddenly. "You might have even discovered a whole new breed!"
"Inuyasha really isn't a Pokemon, Ash."
He gave her a grin and laughed, as if she had told a funny joke. "With those teeth and claws, of course he is. And, of course, the ears are a dead giveaway. He's a special one though. How evolved is he?"
Kagome bit her lip to keep from responding with a smart alec comment to that. Sometimes she wondered how evolved her dear friend was. Especially when he seemed to resort to dog like behaviors, like kicking dirt at Ash while they slept. And the growling.
"Has he learned many new abilities since you got him?"
"Um... well... he HAS learned many new abilities since we met... but he's not a Pokemon."
"Do you guys fight many opponents? Have you won any badges?"
"We... uh... fight lots of battles... but I'm not sure what you mean by badges."
Ash reached into his bag, causing Inuyasha to crouch into a position ready to pounce, and brought out a container holding several shiny objects. Seeing that the boy wasn't trying to harm Kagome, Inuyasha relaxed back into his usual irritated and impatient squat.
"These are my badges." He looked at Inuyasha, then whispered to Kagome. "Though it looks like he might need some more training. He doesn't seem to mind well."
At that Kagome had no choice but to laugh.
"He's not your only Pokemon, is he? You'll need more than one if you want to win any badges."
Kagome was still clutching her middle and giggling as Inuyasha appeared between her and Ash. He stared down at the boy with blazing eyes of gold and a snarl on his lips.
"Kagome don't need nobody but me."
But Ash wasn't intimidated. Kagome wiped her eyes and tried to control her laughter as she stood up to put a hand on Inuyasha's sleeve. It wouldn't do for him to alienate their new friend. According to the Tripper, Bakura should be somewhere in this region. It would be helpful to have someone with them that knew the area.
"You need at least three to compete in the next league battle."
"We're not really here to compete..."
"It's okay if you lose, Kagome," Ash said, "But you won't know how strong you are 'till you try."
Kagome smiled. "I appreciate your... enthusiasm... but we're really just here to find a friend of ours. Then we'll be on our way."
"But everyone will be at the battle. You're sure to find your friend if you're there. Maybe we'll even get to battle each other." Ash grinned. "I'll make sure to go easy on you."
"Yes, but we... did you say you'd go easy on me?" Kagome narrowed her eyes and clenched her fists. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Inuyasha wince and take a step backward. Her aura flared, and the dog demon took another step back.
"Sure. After all, I'm on my way to becoming a Pokemon Master!"
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"Why do you need to catch a Pokemon, Kagome?" asked Inuyasha in a voice suspiciously close to a whine.
He heard her say something about punk kids and overblown egos as she stomped around in the woods. Whatever these Pokemon creatures were, they certainly weren't going to just come up and asked to be trapped into those tiny little balls. And Kagome was making so much noise that it would be impossible to sneak up on anything. However, he wasn't going to be the one to tell her that.
"Perhaps we should help Kagome find these creatures. Between the two of us, I'm sure we can catch her some."
"We don't need YOUR help. I can find her all the Pokethings she needs." Inuyasha's temper was on a short enough fuse without that fox opening up his mouth. No way was he letting that interloper catch a single thing for Kagome. She wasn't HIS to take care of.
Kurama, annoyingly, smiled gently and shrugged his shoulders. Then he put his hands in his pockets and trailed after Kagome. Inuyasha had no choice but to follow.
"Eeeeeeeeeeeeee!"
KAGOME!
Pushing past the fox demon, Inuyasha raced to Kagome's side. He allowed himself one moment to thank all the gods above that she was okay. Then the next many moments were dedicated to being extremely annoyed with her.
"What are ya screamin' for, wench?"
Kagome was beaming at a tiny little creature that was staring up at her with huge blue eyes, squealing in excitement. It looked a lot like Shippo when he turned into a pink balloon.
"Jigglypuff?" the creature asked curiously.
"Did it say something?"
"I think so, Inuyasha... but I don't know what it means."
"Jiggly?"
"There it goes again."
"Yes, Inuyasha, I heard it. I'm standing right here. Oh, Kurama!" Inuyasha's ears flattened against his skull as she yelled for their companion. "Kurama, what do you think it is saying?" It bugged him that she would even ask his opinion.
The red haired nuisance smiled at her and then studied the little pink round creature. "I am uncertain. Though it seems that it must be a Jigglypuff."
"Oh yeah?" snarled Inuyasha. "And just what makes YOU the expert?"
He smiled that infuriating calm smile again. It was really getting on Inuyasha's nerves. "It seems that with the exception of the Meowth that Ash mentioned, all Pokemon seem to only be able to say their own name, or some part of it. Pikachu, for instance, says 'pika', 'chu', and 'pikachu' if you recall."
Inuyasha crossed his arms. Was this wimp calling him an idiot?
"JIGGLY!"
Startled by the change in tone, Inuyasha quit glaring at his rival long enough to glance back at the weird looking Jigglypuff thing. Instead of looking confused, it now looked excited. And was pulling something out of... just where did he pull that out of? It didn't exactly have pockets. And what was that stick thing it was holding?
"A microphone?" Kurama and Kagome said in unison. That earned them both a glare.
Suddenly, the little creature began talking (or was it singing?) into the microphone.
"Jiiiiggly puff jiggly puff..."
It was definitely singing. And the worst singing he ever heard in his life. The noise was horrendous! Kurama was wincing, and Kagome was struggling to keep a polite smile on her face. Inuyasha was clamping his hands over his ears in an effort to drown out the noise.
"...jiggly puff jiggly..."
His eyes drooped... he couldn't help it. It felt as if he were being put under a spell. He saw Kagome sway. Then he saw her knees buckle. He dove for her before she could hit the ground. But he was so tired... so drained of energy... that he could only hold her tight next to his side as sleep claimed him.
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Waking up in Inuyasha's arms seemed more like a dream than reality. But the rocks digging into her side let her know that she wasn't dreaming. Even though she was now awake, she hadn't moved a muscle. Inuyasha's arm was around her, locking her to his side. One of her legs had draped over his, and her arm was slung across his chest. She could even feel his breath teasing her hair. More than anything else, she'd like to stay just where she was and enjoy this for as long as it lasted. After all, she was so warm and comfortable. And felt so very safe.
But she could hear Kurama beginning to stir. Inuyasha would be sure to throw an embarrassed fit and not be able to look her in the eyes for days if he knew this is how they fell asleep. Worse, if Kurama saw it, his mood would be sour for weeks. Her hanyou really hated being embarrassed.
Slowly she took a deep breath, preparing herself to move from his arms. Unable to help herself, she looked up into his face, needing to see him and memorize this one peaceful moment to carry with her. However... his eyes were open!
Looking up, she found herself lost in his eyes. They were soft and gentle. There was something else behind those eyes. Yearning? Or was she simple projecting her own feelings? Of their own volition, her hand reached up and touched a lock of his silver hair. It froze once her eyes left his gaze and traveled to the rest of his face.
"What the...?"
She wasn't sure who said it first. Her or Inuyasha.
"What happened to your face?" Kagome screeched.
"My face? What happened to yours?"
"MINE?"
"Are you alright, Kagome?"
The miko turned her attention to Kurama, who was in the process of standing up and brushing off his clothes. When he looked up, she saw that his face, too, was covered in black marks. They looked like a child's scribble. Then she heard laughter.
"Ha ha ha ha... looks like you guys ran into Jigglypuff." Ash grinned at her as he tossed her five Pokeballs. "Jigglypuff doesn't like it when you fall asleep when it sings. I can't tell you how many times it scribbled on me. But don't worry, it washes off."
Inuyasha had caught all the Pokeballs that Ash had thrown. It looked like he planned on chucking them back at the kid's head, so she gently took them from him. She had to agree with Inuyasha, the Pokeballs MUST be made of magic. It was the only explanation how creatures could fit in it, and how it could shrink down to something so tiny she could put in her skirt pocket. And goodness knows the designers of skirts didn't make pockets that could hold much.
"I had some extra, I thought you could use them. You can keep up to six Pokemon with you. The rest get put into storage."
"Storage?"
"Yeah, I transfer mine to Professor Oak."
"How?"
Ash scratched his head. "I dunno... it just sort of happens."
"Teleportation," whispered Kurama who appeared at her side.
"Don't be an idiot," came the caustic voice at her other side. "They use magic."
Kagome couldn't wait to find Bakura, grab him and the Tripper, and get themselves all back to where they belonged. Magic or advanced technology, she didn't care. She just wanted to go home. She missed her family, both her family in her own time, and her family in the past. The sooner they found Bakura, the sooner they could go home. So she needed to catch her a couple of Pokemon and get to the city to at least register for the battle. That way she could poke around to her hearts content without anyone being suspicious.
"Thanks, Ash," she said.
"No problem, Kagome. We'll catch you some before we get there."
"I'LL catch them for her," snarled Inuyasha. He really had to learn to talk without all the snarling and growling before he scared off Ash. Though the kid didn't seem to be scared of anything. Kagome was beginning to question his sanity.
"Of course you'll help her," said Ash cheerfully, "A Pokemon is caught by fighting another Pokemon. When they are weakened, Kagome will throw the ball at them and capture them."
"Inuyasha isn't a Poke..."
"Give it up, Kagome," Inuyasha grunted, ignoring Kurama's soft laughter. "Let's go catch some."
"GOTTA CATCH 'EM ALL!"
Kagome frowned at Ash. Really, there must be something wrong with him.
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A fox? She had to go and catch a fox. What was it with her and those mangy creatures? First she lets Shippo latch on to her. Then that red headed menace. Now this thing. She wouldn't even let him fight it very hard. She pretty much just coo-ed at it until hopped into her lap. Kurama was leaning against a tree watching her. He better not be getting any funny ideas into his head.
"You caught an Evee?" Ash was smiling a little too brightly at Kagome for Inuyasha's peace of mind. "Those are rare! You don't see many of them running around in the wild."
"Isn't she cute?"
"Feh."
"But you should probably contain it into the Pokeball."
Kagome didn't even bother glancing at the kid as she rubbed noses with the furry little creature. Inuyasha had a sinking feeling that she was bonding with the creature. "She doesn't want to."
"But... that's how it's done."
Kagome looked disdainfully at the Pokeball sitting next to her. Isn't that like putting her into a cage? How does she fit in there? What if she's claustrophobic? How does she breathe?" She tickled the lucky ball of fur and spoke in a sing song voice, "I'm not trapping her in a ball. She's my cutie wootie pie. She doesn't like being trapped in a ball does she? Noooo she doesn't!"
Ash looked at Kagome uncertainly for a moment. Then he smiled. "Pikachu doesn't like it in the ball either. He doesn't go in unless he's sick or hurt. It keeps him safe that way. The only way to catch them and have them be yours is if you capture them with the Pokeball. If you don't do it, then it won't be yours." She opened her mouth to say something, but Ash continued. "And if you don't have any Pokemon, then you can't battle."
It was a pain the see the kid win an argument. Kagome apologized to the little fox looking thing, then she set it down, apologized again, and threw the Pokeball at it. Almost as soon as the capture was finished, Kagome was releasing the Evee. The thing was no worse for wear and happily jumped back into Kagome's arms. Lucky fox.
"Evee's can evolve into all sorts of types depending on the stone you evolve them with."
Ash was explaining evolution to Kagome, but Inuyasha tried to tune him out. Until he heard Kagome's voice turn sharp.
"Why in the world would I want to change anything about Evee?"
"Well... they can learn different attacks. And changing the type would give them an edge over other types. Like if you chose to turn it into a fire type, it would be strong against grass types."
"But weaker against water."
"Well... sure... but..."
Kagome's voice rises a bit and she pokes her finger at the kid. "There is nothing wrong with her the way she is! Why do you people always think that changing someone is going to solve anything? She's fine the way she is! Leave him alone!"
"Us people? Him?"
Inuyasha turned his head to face away from Kagome. Even though it would have been amusing to see the blush that was obviously there from her stammering, he didn't want her to see his own pink cheeks. It had been a long time since he thought about becoming full demon. Every since the day Kagome told him that she liked him just the way that he was (not to mention the kiss that came shortly after at Kaguya's castle to bring back his humanity when he was forced into demon form). It no longer felt like an obsession, like the goal he had to reach. But it seemed like it wasn't far from Kagome's thoughts.
"We better go snag some more if we want enough to do the battle thing," Inuyasha said as an excuse to get moving. He could feel Kurama watching him carefully, and it got on his nerves.
They hadn't gone very far when a weird looking bug jumped at them. His first instinct was to slice it up for making Kagome scream. But Ash had exclaimed that it was a wonderful opportunity to level up the Evee, so reluctantly he let the little thing fight. It bothered him that Kagome was looking worried. She didn't know what moves to call out to the fox, and the only way it would fight is if it was commanded. Inuyasha felt a bit bad for the creature. He couldn't imagine being bound like that. Sure he had the rosary where Kagome could 'sit' him, but it wasn't like she really controlled him. Especially not in battle.
"Inuyasha!"
The creature had fallen, and Kagome was racing to scoop it up in her arms. Ash was trying to stop her, but she easily slipped from him. It was physically painful to see the anguish on her face. The blame she placed on herself. Quickly Inuyasha dispatched the bug.
"Er... you should catch it now that it has fainted."
Inuyasha blinked at Ash's words. Fainted? No way. He KILLED the thing! He looked close. Sure enough, the thing wasn't dead! That was impossible though!
"I don't want it!" Kagome cradles the Evee to her chest, tears streaking down her face.
"But... you'd have a second Pokemon... and bug types are strong agai..."
"I SAID I DON'T WANT IT!"
"But..."
I believe that it would unwise to pursue this conversation," Kurama said, ruining what could have been a very interesting battle scene of another sort.
Ash stared at Kagome with unbelieving eyes.
"I... er... have a spare potion if you want to. Evee will be fine."
That doused the fire in her eyes. Ash showed Kagome (with Kurama hovering) how to give the Pokemon the potion. They were all a bit startled that the creature was instantly better. They talked about the healing. Then they talked about the different attacks the Evee had. Ash even showed her his Pokedex. Inuyasha just wished they'd shut up so they could get this whole thing over with and go home. Though he'd never admit it, the Evee reminded him of Shippo and was making him feel a little homesick for his friends. But only just a little.
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In their time together, Kurama saw many strange things. Nothing, however, was as amusing as watching an entourage of adorable looking Pokemon trailing after a surly dog demon. A Growlithe and Poocheyna trotted happily at his heels, oblivious to the fact that he was ignoring them. A Sentret and a Pachirisu scampered close behind, though the ferret and squirrel looking creatures were prone to dash off to explore something before dashing back to their place in the pack. The Evee and Skitty walked a little closer to Kagome than to Inuyasha, but they still seemed to follow his lead. A monkey type of creature, the Chimchar, perched itself on his shoulder, and strangely enough, after just one complaint the dog demon made no moves to unseat it. Wobbling last in the line, was an odd little smelly creature, a Stunky.
However, just as amusing was listening to Ash plead with Kagome to please put the Pokemon in their balls, and that she could only have six in her possession at one time. He tried to explain about sending them to a professor he knew, but Kagome was having none of it. The girl was not acquiring a battle force, she was adopting furry little children.
And Inuyasha was allowing it.
"You really need to think about your team," Ash continued to say to the young miko. "You need a balanced team. Right now you have two fire Pokemon, one dark, one electric, one poison, and three normal. It's not a strong set up. You'd be weak against all sorts of other types. And you can only have six with you. You have to send three of them to the professor!"
Three? Kurama counted only eight Pokemon... oh yes. Inuyasha. The young Pokemon master still believed Inuyasha to be a Pokemon as well. It would have been entertaining to see him try to 'capture' the dog demon.
"You should have a water type in there, and a grass type. Or a flying type. So many of the same types make for a really weak group. You'll never win a battle that way." He continued to point out Kagome's problems as a Pokemon trainer. "And you haven't even really battled with them! You have to battle with them to make them stronger. That's the only way they learn new moves."
Somehow, Kagome had managed to 'capture' her little group of Pokemon just by charming them. Technically none of them had actually been 'captured', except for Evee. And she had only been in the ball for moments before being released. Ash couldn't understand Kagome's reluctance to put them in the balls or to send them to the professor he continues to talk about. Kagome could not understand how he could trap them in such small spaces then send them off to just sit around until he decided he needed them.
Kagome's pack of Pokemon seemed to take great exception to the young boy irritating her. The few times he raised his voice at her he found himself with bites to the ankles, scratches, an electrical shock, and once he received the very... pungent reminder to not mess with the miko. Though the smell of the Stunky caused Inuyasha to feel ill, he made sure to be extra nice to it after Ash got sprayed.
For just a moment, Kurama felt a little jealous. The relationship between the hanyou and the human was very interesting. Very close. He could almost see the ties that bound them. He had friends, of course. In his own world. But even the relationship between Yuuske and Kieko was nothing like this. The dog demon knew every move that the miko made. Not because he was consciously keeping track of her, but because he was instinctively keeping track of her. His ears would constantly flick in her direction, his eyes would seek her, even his nose was always on alert. Kurama wondered if he was always this aware of her, or if it was the scare of nearly losing her that made him so hypersensitive to her presence. Kagome seemed oblivious, so likely this was nothing new.
Kurama smiled wistfully. What would it be like to have someone like that? Someone you would live and die for. Someone who held your heart so completely. Someone who's smile held more power than any enchantment over you.
There was nothing extraordinary about Kagome. Yes, she was very pretty and very kind, but so are many girls, so that was nothing special. Yes, she had some spiritual purifying powers. But there were many females much more powerful than her out there. She was... to be honest... just a girl. And to her, this hanyou, was just a boy. It was heartening. Kurama held his own demon inside, and had long given up the notion of a normal relationship with a normal girl. So he focused on his job and protecting his friends. He never thought that perhaps there was someone out there just for him.
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"If one more person throws one of those balls at my head..." Inuyasha growled, "I can't be held responsible for my actions."
Kagome laughed. She couldn't help it.
"I don't get it," Ash said as he scratched his head. "You're in an awfully good mood for someone who didn't qualify for the tournament."
Evee rubbed her head against her hand, begging for attention. Kagome shrugged her response to Ash. She was enjoying seeing the Pokemon play far too much to worry about winning a battle. Besides, she didn't want any of them to get hurt unnecessarily. It wasn't as if they were trying to defeat demons or anything.
Besides, nothing in the world was as cute as Pokemon trying to climb all over Inuyasha. She could watch that all day and never get bored. Though the Chimchar and Growlithe seemed far too inclined to start fires just to see Inuyasha snicker. Even the Pachirisu, which seemed like such a cute innocent little thing, would shock people (not life threatening or too painful) just to get a reaction. Really, Inuyasha was a bad influence on them.
It was hard to work up any anger though. Not when they all looked so cute. That's probably how Shippo got away with the tricks he played on people. His cuteness was a weapon itself. Of course, since the mischief these guys were getting into wasn't meant to annoy Inuyasha, he found them much more entertaining.
"Our pack just got bigger," Inuyasha said as he dropped down beside her. The Sentret trying to get his attention ran in circles before finally giving up and chasing after the Poocheyna. "You're gonna need a bigger bag for the extra ramen."
"..."
Inuyasha thought they were taking all the Pokemon?
There was no way... they just couldn't... could they? No. It wouldn't be fair to them. Who knew what dangers they might come up against? Plus... this was their home. And sooner or later, they would miss it.
"I have good news and bad news."
Kagome was grateful for Kurama's interruption. She looked up at the young man and sighed. Why was there never JUST good news? Why did bad news always have to follow?
"According to the Tripper, Bakura is very close."
"He is?" Kagome jumped to her feet. Inuyasha was already up and sniffing the air trying to locate him by scent. "Where?"
Kurama looked off to the east and nodded in that direction. Inuyasha sprinted off before Kurama even had a chance to say a word. "In the stands over there, most likely. But he is not the only one who is nearby."
Kagome groaned. "What terrible timing!"
Clapping her hands she got the attention of her small fuzzy group. Like good little soldiers (or children), they all sat down and watched Kagome intently. She wondered how much they understood of what she was saying. The seemed unusually intelligent.
"Okay you guys, I have a mission for you."
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"Honestly, Pepper, please stop fussing with my hair. I know it was an accident."
The little fairy had tied tiny little ribbons all in Aster's hair. Unfortunately, sometimes they were tied to other things as well. It took nearly two hours to get her hair untangled from the bed and her night clothes when she woke up that morning. The fairy was cute, but she really did seem to get in to a lot of stuff. She would scold her for making them fall so far behind in the mission, but Aster just didn't have the heart. Every time she thought about it, Pepper's sweet face and adorable smile would pop into her head and her heart just melted. It was a good thing her superiors couldn't see her.
"What in the world?"
Aster stopped at Dayan's words. She looked in the direction he was pointing and actually laughed. It was terribly unprofessional, but she couldn't help it. A pack of cute creatures had Bakura surrounded. The thief was glaring at them.
"When my powers return, I shall banish you ALL to the Shadow Realm!"
"I need a picture of this," Dayan said as he searched his pocket for something to capture this moment in time. She hoped he forgot it on the ship. She really REALLY didn't want to be caught on film with her hair looking like it had a life of its own.
There was a tiny gasp in Aster's ear. Then a surprisingly loud shout from such a tiny creature.
"SALT!"
Aster watched as the dark haired fairy darted towards where Bakura was trying to shake the dog looking creature's teeth from the fabric of his pant leg and pry the cat looking creature's claws out of his shoulder. A bright light flew from Bakura's shoulder and met Pepper halfway.
"PEPPER!"
Annoyingly, tears filled her eyes at the sight. Pepper was reunited with her friend at last. Pretending to wipe dust from her eye, she swiped at a tear before it could fall. When she looked up, she saw Kagome watching her from across the field. The girl smiled at her warmly. In understanding. She really wished that she didn't like the girl so much. You weren't supposed to LIKE the criminals you bring in. But the more Aster saw of Kagome, the more she hated her job.
Quickly she scanned the group.
Ash: His life would not be changed by Kagome. He didn't understand her, and forgot her nearly as soon as she left. She would soon be replaced by another girl and Brock would rejoin him once Inuyasha disappears.
Growlithe and Poocheyna: They would grow depressed and die after Inuyasha and Kagome leave. They would feel abandoned by their family, their pack. They would stop eating, and just lay together waiting for Kagome and Inuyasha to come back.
Sentret: He would always be fearful that he would be abandoned. Though another Pokemon trainer would eventually capture him, he would always be nervous and untrusting. Eventually the trainer would tire of him and release him into the wilds again.
Chimchar and Pachirisu: The fire and electric Pokemon would run wild, and their harmless fun would turn into something much darker as they no longer have Kagome to temper their behavior. In an effort to find that sense of 'family' that they lost, their mischief would escalate. Eventually a call would be sent out to put them down.
Skitty: This Pokemon would refuse to ever be captured again. She wanders from place to place, continually searching for her lost family. Her temper would cause others to fear her, and want nothing to do with her. She would die lonely and alone.
Stunky: This Pokemon would follow Skitty for the rest of his life. Always just out of reach. Hoping that their family would be reunited. He would be caught, twice in fact. But he would fight against the trainer, literally causing the worst stink. Skitty would die first. Then Stunky would stay with her, not knowing where else to go or what else to do. Then he, too, would perish.
Evee: The poor little Pokemon would not survive the heartbreak of losing Kagome.
No question about it this time. Their memories would all have to be erased. All of them. As Dayan began quoting his lines to arrest Kagome, Aster began weaving the spell that would erase their memories. Since she could only do one at a time, she chose Evee to start with. That one's fate would be the worst.
"Watch out!"
Before Aster could even completely open her eyes she was knocked to the ground. She found herself staring into the eyes of a very VERY angry Evee. How in the world had she ever thought such a scary looking creature was cute? It looked ready to tear her arms off. Its teeth were bared and the hair was standing up. It looked ready to attack.
"Evee!"
"ASTER!"
Aster didn't take her eyes off of the animal sitting on her chest, but she could hear that Kagome was racing towards her and Dayan sounded slightly panicked.
"Get them!" Whether she was talking to Kagome to get the snarling Evee off her chest, or telling Dayan to capture Kagome, she wasn't really sure. She just hoped that someone did something... FAST.
Everything happened rather quickly after that. There was yelling and scuffling. Aster jumped to her feet once the Pokemon was scooped up off of her. She ran towards Kagome with her weapon drawn, Dayan already bearing down on Inuyasha. They dodged ferocious furry creatures. They would be spending the evening in the medical unit, that's for sure. Inuyasha grabbed Kagome, Kagome was reaching for the Tripper Bakura held, and Kurama was trying to subdue the tomb robber.
Then everyone was gone.
Well, not everyone. They were still in a field filled with Pokemon trainers. Some were watching with interest, but only until the next battle began. Dropping her head down, Aster wondered just how many times she was going to have to watch them leave. Just as she was beginning to feel really sorry for herself, she felt Dayan's hand on her shoulder.
"You okay?"
She nodded. Not quite trusting her voice.
He sighed. "They're gone."
A sharp laugh escaped. She swallowed it before it became tears. Dayan didn't have to tell her, but Pepper was gone as well. She would really miss the little fairy. Well, she would see her again. Once they caught Kagome. Then they'd have to go through the long process of taking everyone back to their own worlds.
Sad howling and whines brought her head up.
The Pokemon.
They were already mourning the loss of Kagome and Inuyasha. Wiping her eyes, Aster began erasing their memories. They would go back to the forests or woods or fields and they would find Pokemon trainers or live out their lives in the wild. They wouldn't remember Kagome or Inuyasha.
Chimchar was the first she saw, she quickly erased his memory. She did quick double checks that his future was back on their original path then turned to the next one. Skitty was next. Then Sentret. Then Stunky. Poocheyna bit her twice before she was able to erase his memory.
But... where were Growlithe, Pachirisu, and Evee?
Just fantastic. In addition to finding Kagome and Inuyasha, along with a fox demon and a thousand year old thief, and two fairies, they also had to round up three Pokemon now probably running about the universe. They'd do a thorough check of the area before assuming they had three more displaced residents on their hands. Why could things never be easy?
"Hey look."
Feeling wiped out with a monster headache forming just behind her eyes, Aster squinted in her partner's direction. "What?" she asked.
Dayan bent down and picked up a very familiar contraption.
"It's one of the Trippers."
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Disclaimer Part II: Pokemon was originally a video game owned by Nintendo and created by Satoshi Tajiri (then turned into anime and manga and all Pokemon representation outside of Asia is by Pokemon USA), A Little Snow Fairy Sugar characters belong to Kadokawa Shoten, Yu-Gi-Oh characters (Bakura) belong to Kazuki Takahashi, and Yu Yu Hakusho characters belong to Yoshihiro Togashi.
Author's Notes:
People debate on whether or not Pokemon is a true anime or manga. I'm choosing yes. After all, besides the fact that it was based on a video game, it still follows the definition of 'anime' or 'manga'. It isn't the only game that got turned into manga either. However, everyone is entitled to their opinion. I just wrote this note to let the readers know that I am aware that there are people who disagree.
Thank you to kasumikagome for suggesting Pokemon. At first I wasn't going to use it because it didn't seem to fit with the kinds of anime/manga I was using. Then the idea grew on me. Then I HAD to use it and bumped back the other chapter I was writing. I didn't include Dawn though and Brock only got mentioned, sorry.
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