InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Stardust ❯ Repercussions ( Chapter 4 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Disclaimer: Ooo, if only. . .

Author's Note: Hiya! Thank God for Labor Day weekend, ne? Hope y'all are enjoying it. ^_^

Life's busy, for me, but okay, I guess. School's beginning to look up- I found my lost sketchbook and I've got classes with most of my friends. Not too much homework so far, either- though I'm sure that'll change. Oh! And my onee-san will be coming to visit me over Thanksgiving! XD I can't wait to see her!

Anyway, I know that technically I'm supposed to be updating Headlines right now, but this is what I'm inspired to write- and better a chapter in this than no chapter at all, ne? ^_^;;; I'll work on Headlines next.

Please enjoy!

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STARDUST

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"We would often be sorry if our wishes were gratified." ~ Aesop (620 BC - 560 BC)

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CHAPTER FOUR: REPERCUSSIONS

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Ah, sunrise- the most peaceful time of day. Cool winds rushing, small insects chirping, sweet slumber still granted to the poor souls of the city. . . Bliss. And this morning was no different- tranquil. Silent colors exploded in the sky as the flaming ball of red-orange light rose- swallowing the dusky blues and violets with magentas and yellows as- - -

All tranquility shattered.

"EEEEEEEEEEEE-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGH !"

Kagome's sleepy eyes snapped open at once, her whole body jolting to attention as Inu-Yasha's scream shook the foundations of the opulent house. "Master Inu-Yasha?!" she gasped, pushing herself out of the comfortable corner. What was going on? Why was he screaming? Why wasn't he in bed? "Master Inu-Yasha?! Where are you?!" she called, cupping her hands around her mouth as her brow furrowed in confusion.

His only answer was to continue screaming. Ergo, she followed his voice- racing after the horrified sound until she was lead to the bathroom- the one full of those fancy chamber pots, mirrors, and the fountain (bubbling with expensive soaps) that he had insisted upon. Pushing through the thick veils that blocked it from view, the young woman burst inside- - -

To find Inu-Yasha, staring wide eyed into the many looking glasses; hands running through his hair, over his face, and around his body. He was still gasping, trembling- but when her reflection appeared behind his, his yells came to a halt and his fingers stopped their roaming.

And then he turned slowly to face her- livid. He was not a happy customer.

Kagome swallowed, taking a wary step backwards as the male before her took one towards her- shaking hands jerkily reaching out in the direction of her throat. "M- Master. . . ?" she whimpered, eyebrows knitting together as worried tears pooled up. "Master Inu-Yasha, what ails you. . . ?" Her gaze darted left and right before finally settling on him again, clenching her hands over her heart. "Are you not satisfied. . . ?"

"What. . . ails. . . ? Satisfied. . . .?!" Inu echoed- his eyes popping as he allowed a dark chuckle to fall from his lips- - - before he completely lost it. "WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, BEING SATISFIED?! WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO TO ME?!" he roared, helplessly tugging at his now-silver locks as his newly-grown dog ears gave a flick. Kag winced and shrank towards the wall as the man-turned-hanyou stomped another foot closer- his twenty talons and canines shining in the lamplight. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME, WENCH?!"

The girl glared half-heartedly from the fetal position she had taken on the floor, a pearl of moisture slipping down her cheek as her sapphire pools bored into his golden ones. "Wench?!" she snapped, voice giving the mildest of quakes. "How DARE you!" Pushing herself up right, the magical maiden poked the half-demon in the chest, brushing away another tear. "I did nothing but grant what you asked for, Master! Why are you yelling at me?!"

"This isn't what I wished, bitch!" he screamed back, whirling away from her as she quickly lost her steam, sinking back to the ground with a soft `Forgive me, Master. I shouldn't have spoken.' "I wished for all of the qualities that dogs have, not their BODY PARTS! And what is it with all these disgusting smells I keep picking up?! They're driving me crazy- just like all the bloody sound!"

Kagome lifted her gaze slightly, her voice monotone and hoarse. "Ears for hearing like them. Nose for smelling like them. Claws and teeth for attacking and eating like them. Grace, strength, and speed for stealing like them. Hair and eyes for looking like them. Those are all qualities, Master Inu-Yasha." She smiled slightly, despite herself, before muttering softly under her breath. "Be thankful, at least, that most of the dogs in the bazaar lack tails."

"I HEARD THAT."

`Whoops.' "A thousand and one apologizes, master," she sighed dully, inclining her head in his direction as he began pacing the floor, fretting- and ignoring her.

"What am I gonna do? What am I gonna do?!" he hissed to himself, staring at his sharp nails. "How will I explain this to- - -"

"Inu-Yasha? Are you okay?"

The pair in the bathroom froze as Miroku's voice echoed from near by, the sound of approaching shuffles striking fear into their hearts. "Inu-Yasha? What's with all the noise? It's barely dawn!"

"Shi-i-i-i-it!" Inu cursed in a strained tone, yanking his locks once more. "What the fuck will I tell them?! What will they do?! They'll never accept this! Can't you- - - ?!" he asked in a pleading voice, snapping back towards Kagome, but she cut him off with a shake of her head.


"It took a night to change, it would take a day to return to your original form," she shrugged, chewing her bottom lip. "But- Master Inu-Yasha, they're your best friends! I'm sure that they love you enough not to ca- - -!"

"Nonsense!" he interrupted hotly. "Look at me! I'm a monster! No WAY they'd ever accept m- - -!" His brilliant orbs widened as an idea struck him- the footfalls coming ever closer. Thank the gods that this mansion was so huge. "Unless I make them- - - ! Kagome!" Falling to his knees before the girl, he grabbed her head and turned it towards him. "I wish for Sango and Miroku to accept me like this!"

Kag's eyes widened, a desperate glitter appearing as she frantically opened her mouth. "But Maste- - - !"

"DO IT!" he commanded dourly, shaking her desperately. She paused as he did so, glaring at him as his hands pulled her face forward, squishing her cheeks. Then: "FINE," she spat, snapping her fingers. "DONE."

And no sooner than she had- Miroku entered. The moment of truth- - - -!

"Inu-Yasha. . . ?" the elder man gaped, only half way through the door as he came to a halt- jaw dropping as he stared. "What. . . ?"

The hanyou cringed, awaiting the worse- - -

"What are you doing to Kagome, you sly dog?" he laughed, a grin tugging on the edges of his lips as his violet pools twinkled, amused. "I'm all for a little early morning make-out session, but usually I chose a girl that complies. . . ?"

. . .

The pair on the floor blinked- before realizing what this probably looked like, what with their faces and bodies so close to each other- and against the wall. Inu-Yasha instantly pulled away, surprised and embarrassed as he turned his attention towards his best friend, cheeks aflame. "Sh- sh- shut up! It's not like that at ALL!"

"Sorry, sorry," the other sniggered, leaning against the door frame, "I'll keep it to myself. Some like it that way, I guess. But all the same, could you two keep it down?"

"For the love of the gods, we weren't- - - wait. . ." Inu's eyes widened as Miroku's cheery attitude struck him. He wasn't- - - ? "Miroku. . . ?" he began slowly, tentative as he gave his doggy appendage a twitch. No point in beating around the bush. . . "Do my looks scare you?"

". . . Excuse me?" the older male started, bewildered. "What are you talkin- - -?"

"My ears- ! Hair- ! Eyes- - - !" the hanyou continued, choppy- getting to his feet and walking towards Miroku. "I don't frighten you?!"

"Inu-Yasha, what're you going on about? You've always looked like this! Why would you freak me out? Sure, it's scary that everyone in town chases you with pitchforks when we all go out, but hey! That makes like exciting," the second replied with a snort, as if concerned for his pal's health. Must have been, in fact- seeing as how he proceeded to place a hand upon Inu-Yasha's forehead the second he got close enough. "Are you feeling okay. . . ?"

`Pitchforks?! Eh- must be an exaggeration.' The half demon released a held breath before grinning slightly. "Fine, thanks. Just making sure you. . . never mind."

"I what? What are you- - -Woah," Miroku's eyebrows shot to his hairline, looking a little worried as he took a step back. "Hey, you realize that I don't like you like THAT right? I'm a married man, you know!"

Kagome- still against the wall, had to duck away to hide her giggles at Inu-Yasha's responsive face.

"What the HELL are you talking about?!" Inu spluttered, face red and looking beyond disgusted as he took a staggering step backwards. His friend just laughed, making the sign to ward away evil as he stuck out his tongue.

"Ooo, Inu-Yasha has a crush on me," the eldest sang, taunting. "I'm sooo scar- - - hm?"

All three paused when a loud knocking sounded on the front door, along with a majestic tooting of a horn.

. . . ?

"What's that?" Kagome asked, getting to her feet and standing behind her master, pulling herself up to her tiptoes as she grabbed his shoulder.

"I don't know. . ." the silver haired man frowned.

"I'll go check it out," Miroku waved a hand, stepping out of the room with a grin cast over his shoulder. "Play nice, you two."

"Why you- - - !"

"Shhh!" Kagome suddenly silenced, placing a hand over his mouth and a finger on her own lips. Inu shot her a glance from the corner of his eye, just able to make out her creased brow. Slowly lowering his fist, he arched a questioning eyebrow at the girl. "Something's not right. Listen, master. . ."

He narrowed his gaze, fruitlessly trying to push her palm away. "I thought I told you not to call me- - - !"

"SHHHH!" she insisted, frog marching him out into the hall and hiding behind a corner. "Now listen!"

So with a sigh, he did- still a bit annoyed (and astonished) with his sudden hearing capabilities.

"Miroku. . . ?" Sango's sleepy voice yawned as the oldest mortal walked past the couple's room. "Miroku, what's going on?" Inu-Yasha could hear the woman get to her feet, release a few dry heaves, and then toddle after her husband- who paused in his tracks, softly murmuring that she should go back to bed. After she adamantly refused (being stubborn Sango and all), he sighed- but couldn't ignore the ever louder pounding on the door.

"We know you're in there!" cried an angry voice from behind the locked barrier. "Open up!"

Inu and Kagome exchanged glances as, from a ways away; Miroku and Sango did the same.

"Pardon. . . ?" Miroku began, tentatively undoing the bolt- - -

Only to have- what sounded like- the entire army storm inside- breaking artwork and shattering windows as they did so. "Thank you for letting us in," a crisp voice droned, the crinkling of paper sounding as they presumably unbound a roll of parchment. "The inhabitants of this household are under arrest for obscene amounts of robbery, misconduct, and lies. Take them away!"

"What the hell- - - ?! We didn't steal any of th- - -" Sango began, but was soon muffled by a cloth. "Mphpmppph!?"

"Ha," drawled the man, chuckling as the police guffawed. "You expect us to believe that poor street rats like yourselves suddenly saved up enough money to buy this palace in less than a day?!"

"Sango! What are you- - -?! Release her!" Miroku began, before a heavy CRACK sounded- the kind that sent a feeling of cold dread straight to your heart. Inu-Yasha's eyes widened and his heartbeat quickened as he heard the dead weight of his best friend drop to the floor. This whole thing had got to be a bad dream- - - !

Kagome, who had been fiddling with a lock of her hair before, silently clapped her hands together. Giving Inu's nightshirt a tug, she pointed towards the nearest window. He blinked at her, nonplussed, before understanding. Shaking his head, he began to mouth `no!', but she lipped an adequate argument to convince him otherwise.

`Come or you'll die!'

Inu-Yasha swallowed, resisting her yanks. Sango- - - Miroku- - - !

"Both are gagged and bound, sir!"

"Good. Now- I hear there is a third street rat in this house. Find him. Take him to jail with the other two- for life. Then return for a royal search of this place- we need to find the townsfolk's. . . and the princess's. . . stolen belongings. Move it!"

As the heavy sounds of footsteps grew nearer and nearer, the hanyou suddenly realized how dangerous the situation was. They had to get out of here! Standing in a flash and almost knocking Kag to the floor with his eagerness, the pair silently raced towards the nearest window. Skidding to a halt at the magnificent work of multicolored glass at the dead end of the hall, Kagome quickly ripped her veil off of her mouth and folded it until it was opaque- placing it over Inu's ears and tying it underneath his chin. He moved to bat her hands away, but her icy glare stopped him in his tracks. God, she could be scary when she wanted to be. . . Not that he'd admit it.


"Trust me," she hissed as she tightened the knot of the slippery fabric, tossing a pale faced glance over her shoulder. "No- You'll have to jump through it!"

"Me?! And this window?!" Inu-Yasha snapped softly, his ears already sore. "Why not you?! You can break it with magic, ri- - - ?!"

"DAMMIT MASTER, IF YOU DON'T BREAK THAT STUPID WINDOW YOURSELF YOU'LL- - -!" Kagome started furiously, but was cut off when a stray guard rounded their corner- dressed in thick gray armor and carrying one huge sword. The separate groups stared at one another for a half second- - -

And then both reacted.

"I found him! He's with some girl!" the man barked, his long, black, braided hair whipping around his head, pointing his weapon at the pair. Uh oh. . .

"Shit!" the half demon spat, instinctively scooping Kag into his arms- ignoring her quiet shriek of surprise- before leaping feet first through the window, not allowing himself any second thoughts as he hugged the girl safely to his chest. Ignoring the cry of the guards as the broken pieces of iridescent colored glass tinkled around their bodies- cutting their arms and legs and clothes- the pair fell with loud `thumps' in the soft, cool sand; whole yards away from the house.

"Woah. . ." Inu breathed hard, shocked at the power in his legs. Maybe this wasn't so bad. . .

"No time for that!" Kagome snapped, her usual subdued manner completely gone as she gave his forelock a sharp yank- pointing rapidly at the dozens of marching troops that had noticed them from the door way. "RUN!"

Inu-Yasha, noticing the many, shining swords in the men's hands, quickly complied; bolting off into the sunrise with the girl in his arms- and feeling more and more guilty with every step taken.

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"We lost them," Kagome panted in relief, leaning against a dark wall of the adobe ally way in the bazaar. Sliding down it, she came to rest next to a brooding Inu-Yasha. "But we'll have to keep going soon- they'll be coming right this way in a few minutes, I'm sure." Smiling slightly, her demeanor dropped when she noticed the hanyou. "Master? What's the matter? We made it out! Oh. . ." Gasping, she noticed the bleeding scrapes upon his arms, some deep and others shallow. "Are these what's hurting you, Master?" She asked gently, taking his arm in her petite hands. He roughly tugged it back.

"No," he growled, eyes narrowed as he pulled his chin to his knees. "That's not it."

Kagome pursed her lips, on her face an expression of worry as she folded her hands in her lap. "Then- if it is not too bold- what's troubling you, Master Inu-Yasha?"

"What. . . ? You even have to ask?!" He laughed joylessly; bitter as he clenched his fists tightly- slamming one into the sand. "You certainly have a blind spot for the obvious, don't you, Kagome?!" Glaring coldly at her from the corner of his eye, he showed her a flash of his fangs. "My only friends were just put under arrest and all I did was run away! What kind of a bastard am I?!"

"A living one?" she suggested a bit dryly, dipping her fingers into her top and pulling a maroon handkerchief out from between her breasts. Blowing out her cheeks and grabbing her master's arm again- not noticing the slight blush on his face as that scrap of cloth touched his flesh- Kag began to dab away his blood. "Master Inu-Yasha, it's all right. They'll be throwing them in the prison, right? That's no trouble." Shaking her head as he shot her a confused glance, she clarified with a grin. "We can rescue them."

Rescue. . . ?

Inu-Yasha straightened, eyes widening. That was it!

"Kagome! That's perfect!" he suddenly gasped, turning rapidly to face her. The girl blinked. "We can rescue them! Using magic!"

"Wha- - - ?! No!" Kagome shook her head frantically. "That's not what I meant, Master!"

"Kagome, you're a genius!" he clapped his hands, completely oblivious as she babbled frightenedly behind him. "I wish for Sango and Miroku to be released from prison!"

"No!" the girl whispered forcefully, grabbing his shirt. "Please, Master, don't make me- - - ! It is a sin- - -! Don't do this- - - !"

Inu, looking a little annoyed now, stared down his nose at the groveling woman. "What ARE you going on about?!" He rolled his eyes, pulling away. "That's what I wish!"

". . ." She lost all her energy with that blunt statement, her hands loosening and her head dropping forward a bit- eyes hidden. "Oh. . . I see. I. . . I had hoped. . . that you'd be smarter, Master. But. . . your desire is mine to fulfil, and so I shall- - -" she breathed, sounding choked- and scornful. "- - -You IDIOT!"

Snapping her fingers and releasing a sob, Kagome pushed herself to her feet and stalked off without another word.

"What- - -?! What the hell?!" Inu-Yasha gaped, confused and angry as he, too, got up- racing to the entry of the ally and into the shadowy light of the afternoon. But the girl ignored the half demon's bewildered, furious calls as she disappeared into the crowd- - -

And a couple of gossiping women passed by, wrinkled faces excited as they straightened their shopping baskets- blocking the hanyou's path. He instinctively slunk away, not wanting to be seen. After all, that pitchfork thing could still be true. . . And Kagome could take care of herself. . . right?

"Did you hear, Kaede?" one dressed in pale, drooping rags gushed, her long gray hair pulled back into a low, fern-adorned ponytail- her huge eyes examining the herbs at a nearby cart. "An execution has been announced!"

Inu-Yasha's body stopped moving completely.

"Oh, yes, Urasue," the second smiled, her short, stout body leaning over some sweet smelling flowers and taking a sniff. "Heard it's going to be some young couple. Pity- I hear the woman was expecting."

No- - - ! It had to just be some sort of coincidence!


"Well, that's what happens when you resort to a life of crime," Urasue sniffed haughtily before stealthily scooping some ginger into her basket and hiding it underneath a loaf of bread. "I'm sure they deserve it."

Sango- Miroku!


"Aye," Kaede agreed after a moment. "We could do with two less criminals, all the same. Anyway- let's head over. I hear the decapitation will start at any time!"

"Ooo! Let's!"

And so the two old cronies scuffled off, cackling over some inside joke as Inu-Yasha felt his knees give out. `No- - - no- - - ! They- - - !'

Biting his bottom lip and setting his face, the man slowly used the wall to get back to his feet. This was no time for hysterics. . .

He had to do something.

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^_^;; Originally this chapter was going to be longer, but I think this is long enough for now. ^_~

Please R&R!

Ja ne!