InuYasha Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ The Blue Anshan ❯ Seeking 1 – A Change of Scenery ( Chapter 5 )

The Blue Anshan

By Alesyira

Sequel to Shippo and the Magic Wand.

Canon Universe(s), Divergence into AU, Crossover.

(Action, Adventure, Angst, Drama, Mystery, Paranormal, Romance, eventual MA content, Scifi.)

Summary: Shippo finally realizes how much his life has changed.

Chapter Rating: T.

Disclaimer: Inuyasha is owned by Rumiko Takahashi, and Yu Yu Hakusho is owned by Togashi Yoshihiro. OCs are my own. I make no profit from this piece of fiction.

Author's Note: Originally posted 5/9/07.

Arc 2 - Seeking 1 – A Change of Scenery

1501-1505

Two months. (Well, three months by the time I got home.) It really was such a blink of time in a youkai's long life, but for humans - that length of time could seem so very long.

Would they be disappointed with me?

Sometimes, when I think back to that time of my life, I like to tell myself that I ran my ass off to get back home as soon as possible... But it's impossible to lie to yourself while the truth insists on poking you in the side with a sharp stick, hissing "I'm still here!"

So yeah... the truth? It took four weeks to get home (twice as long as it took me to get away in the first place!) because I was 'collecting my thoughts' ...or something. Hell, I just didn't want to face them. I had no idea how they'd react to my reappearance after the abrupt departure. I'm sure they worried about me, but my anxiety centered on the repercussions of how Kagome felt after I'd left.

Myoga hadn't really told me about her emotional state during her last week in the feudal era. I mean... she didn't physically need to be near me anymore, but she had been so sad. And when something hurt Kagome's feelings, you could be damned sure that the monk and slayer would step up to beat the living tar out of the offender! (Well, Sango would. Miroku would employ a sharp whack-of-the-staff and maybe a well-placed ofuda or two...)

I figured I could handle anger. Anger is easily burned off with a good scuffle, and my wounds heal fast anyways.

Why couldn't I have stayed that last week? I'm sure I wouldn't have ended up doing anything too drastic if I'd stayed just a little bit longer. I mean, how bad could it have been? It's not like I'd been lusting over her body with some twisted desire to...

Okay, weird thoughts. She was –er, IS– Kagome! I love the girl, sure. And like any self-respecting kitsune, I want to horde things I love in my super-secret cave (I actually didn't have one of those for another couple decades). But come on, that would have been a bit too creepy.

I could have easily smashed that damned dry well and kept her in this era...

...Don't look at me like that. You know that anyone who really cared for that girl harbored thoughts of doing just that, or something equally as stupid. She could have lived just fine for the four-hundred and fifty some-odd years between then and now, and she still would have made it home for dinner a whole week early.

Anyways, once I found myself back in Inuyasha's forest, all I could think about was turning tail and trying again the next week. –Um, maybe the next month. Or the next year? I was itching to run away from their disappointed stares and difficult questions, and I was so set on forcing my feet in a straight path that I was stunned by the completely unexpected sight I came upon.

Now, before I say anything more, I'm tempted to give you a few bits of information that might help your thoughts run wild with crazy ideas and graphic details... but I should just get to the point. Now, by that time in my life, the concept of sex was still mostly unfamiliar to me. I guess I knew that a male and female had to do something together (privately!) that involved some rubbing together and making weird noises, and those actions would eventually result in kids... But I'd never, not in my wildest dreams, imagined sex to have anything to do with what I witnessed that afternoon.

Sango had tied Miroku face down to her Hiraikotsu, his arms stretched out along the length of the giant bone boomerang. His lean muscles flexed against the binding, which made it obvious just how tight his restraints were. It had been propped into the crook of a tree's branches so that he stood, naked as the day he was born, helpless to prevent Sango from... from...

She seemed possessed! A fire burned in her eyes –it was an expression she'd had in battles countless times before– as she drew back her hand to strike Miroku's bare backside.

"Tell me how you like it!" she screamed, and I fell backwards in absolute horror, right into a poor, defenseless bush. The sound drew both of their attention to where I sat, and I knew my face had to be as red as my hair.

Sango, thankfully still clothed, –they must have just gotten started!– said my name, though her tone held enough confusion that she might not have immediately recognized me.

I was still so dumbfounded by what I was STARING at, that the next moment went by in a blur of half-images: a flash of silver, the tight curl of an arm hooked under my right and over my chest, my feet left the ground as I was jerked sideways out of the immediate area. "Sorry you had to see that." I regained my footing and glared at the red-clad hanyou.

Inuyasha didn't bother to hide the smirk that crossed his face as he stood there, staring at me, and it didn't take a genius to know he wasn't really all that sorry. I had a suspicion that he knew I was coming and just wanted to see if I'd accidentally stumble upon them.

"You do realize that if Sango had been nude, I would have lost my PG rating, right?"

"PG...what?" he asked, confused.

"Never mind."

That's not really how it went, but it would have been funny.

I wasn't surprised to learn that Sango was three months pregnant... but I had no idea that her pregnancy had resulted in such drastic changes in her behavior. I never asked for details after seeing such a display in the woods, but I had to guess that it wasn't ALL bad considering how Miroku always had a silly grin on his face when they were around us.

Back then, I thought he was a crazy man to enjoy the pain she inflicted... but over time I came to realize that such a thing is not so uncommon, and actually has a name: masochism.

Well, I still think he is a crazy man.

Within a short time of being home, I noticed something that hadn't been apparent until it went away. I had been so guarded and out of place that I hadn't noticed how subdued I'd become. I could liken it to stuffing everything about me –personality, behavior, playfulness– into a little box with a few breathing holes poked into the lid.

Once I'd found my place with Kagome and her friends, rarely would I leave them and go off by myself. Most of those adventures were a child's act of bravery or curiosity, and I always knew my friends were nearby so that I could go home at the end of the day. But even during those times that I went out on my own, I was still sarcastic, tricky and playful. I'd annoy and torment my enemies with magnificent illusions and woo the cute girls with my sparkling charm.

After I came home from the 'enlightening' journey to my father's homeland and the subsequent stay with the mogura clan, my personality practically exploded from its bottled-up state. Poor Inuyasha... I picked on him all the time. Especially with Kagome gone, I no longer had very much reason to behave. Inuyasha could threaten to beat me black and blue, but I had gotten faster and bigger, and it was veeeery easy to disguise myself through soundless, seamless illusion. (Once, I had the poor foresight to use Inuyasha's guise as my own to throw him off... but Kikyo found me first and dragged me back to the village by his ear thinking he'd shirked his duties for the afternoon...)

It was hard for him to instill fear in me, but the day I actually set his pants on fire (hard to do with firerat fur, but my flames stick to things, even if they aren't burning them), he said he would make sure Kagome heard of every foul thing I'd done when he saw her next.

I think that did a little bit of good to help stave off the growing desire to cause mischief.

The villagers had begun work on a new shrine to celebrate the completion of the Shikon no Tama and Inuyasha helped design the grounds based on what he had seen in Kagome's time. A long time after that, it crossed my mind that him doing so could have done something to mess up the timeline... but I have to guess that Fate had its way and life went on as usual, all the way up through Kagome's time.

Sango's pregnancy placed immense tension and worry on the monk's shoulders and I found myself constantly running unbelievable errands to find completely erratic things to eat. When Sango started craving foods that Kagome had brought back with her at one time or another, I thought I'd go insane, but it helped me learn resourceful methods of quickly procuring items from all over the countryside.

I tried to escape the endless mood swings, but the only way to do that without shirking my responsibilities was to help Inuyasha and the villagers to construct the new shrine. After I accidentally set fire to a large pile of timber that Inuyasha had carefully cut and trimmed earlier that week, they wouldn't let me help with anything except the stonework, which couldn't burn.

So, I ended up helping Sango, Kaede and Kikyo in the herb gardens. Sango talked a lot ...about everything that I never wanted to know. One day, I thought it might be funny to try on a female appearance and giggle along with the girls, but the instant silence and icy glares I received in return seemed to indicate they didn't appreciate 'being made fun of.'

Ch, they were just especially moody during those months. Yes, I said they. It totally rubbed off of the pregnant slayer and onto anyone she came in contact with, except for me. I'm never moody.

Well, over the next several months of Sango's pregnancy, many things changed. I helped where I could, which occasionally meant providing unexpected sources of entertainment. Once, I actually used an illusion to impersonate Inuyasha running through the village without his pants. I thought it was hilarious, but he used that particular moment of mischief against me from that day forth: whenever he got caught doing something that he wasn't supposed to do, he would just tell everyone that it had been me masquerading as him again...

Many visitors came to hear about and pay their respects to the warriors that had vanquished the evil Naraku. Together Kaede and Kikyo told the stories and kept the new shrine, taking on new priestesses to train. We all wondered which one would end up being Kagome's predecessor, but that was something I never had a chance to learn.

Inuyasha refused to leave Kikyo's side for more than a week or two at most. He pulled me aside one day to tell me what had happened to Kikyo to result in such a drastic change in her attitude toward life.

I was amazed at the story and intensely curious about the ruins of which he spoke, but he warned me of the consequences of her wish and wouldn't divulge anything about the location. I was saddened to hear that she had so very little time left among our group, and I knew that Inuyasha would want to spend as much time with her as possible. It was barely noticeable, but when he spoke of the time that she'd have to go back to those ruins to repay her debt, I could see the glimmer of determination in his eyes. I had a feeling that my friend would surely follow her to the ends of the earth...

It was agreed that raising a new brood of slayers would be dangerous in such a familiar and public location, and so we made plans that after Sango and Miroku's firstborn reached his first year, the family would move to a carefully chosen location in the mountains to the north. I knew that I would be invaluable aid to the growing family, so I offered to go with them. Inuyasha accompanied us to the new location so that he would know where we could be found and to help us with the initial settling, but he didn't stay for very long.

They had named their firstborn son Kiketsu, for he marked the beginning of their new lives and the end of our quest for the Shikon no Tama. I was very happy to stay with them for some time. I played with Kiketsu for many hours a day, giving Sango and Miroku time to themselves to practice and... do whatever married couples do. I was curious about that sometimes, but not enough to walk in on something that might haunt me for the rest of my life. The time I spent with Kiketsu helped me regain a sense of the childhood I'd lost to the years of dangerous adventure.

Over the next year, we built a small village in a sheltered clearing. The series of houses and tunnels (which I carefully dug over the time I spent with them) would provide the first stepping stone of rebuilding their clan. They would raise their children and grandchildren here, and as the third generation grew old enough, would spread to hidden locations with their new families. Sango and Miroku hoped that this plan would help keep the slayer legacy alive should another massacre befall their kind...

I refused to leave until I was sure they wouldn't need me there anymore, but this time was well-spent and I learned many things. Sango, in her growing excitement of getting to teach time-honored skills and traditions to her children, began with me. She walked me through kata and the basics of using various weapons, and although I was pretty bad at first, I got better with practice. Miroku helped me improve my reading and writing skills, building upon what I'd learned from Kagome over the last few years.

Shortly after their second child, Shiran, was born, Miroku pulled me aside to ask about my plans.

"You spoke of traveling west to find information regarding your extended family." I nodded at this, but didn't miss the gleam of amusement in the monk's eyes. "What method of travel are you planning to use?"

"Well, I figured I could…" I trailed off. How exactly could I travel that far across the water? Water is not my element, so I'm definitely not fond of swimming. I could do the floating pink balloon thing, but that would take forever. "There's got to be a way that I could get there by myself."

Miroku nodded slightly and motioned for me to follow him inside. "During the last trip Sango made to the old slayer village, she collected a few scrolls regarding known uses of youki in regards to movement. Some of this information might prove useful for you." Grateful for the information, he helped me sift through reports and theories on how certain youkai use their energy in movement. I'd never thought about it before, but I suppose that slayers would have collected some information on the subject, as it must be incredibly useful to know how certain opponents could move.

Of course, I grumbled fiercely about the lack of scrolls on kitsune in particular. I guess the slayers never really had to exterminate my kind, and therefore never collected any comprehensive information on how to kill us.

One section that I found interesting sounded almost familiar to something I was already doing. When I run, I use very small pockets of youki underneath my feet to anchor myself to the ground and push off with much greater force, making forward momentum silent and much faster than just running, and the additional anchoring helps so that I can stop immediately or change direction without skidding. The idea of movement across the water was that those same pockets of energy could be built upon to pillow my contact with the surface of the water while increasing my forward momentum. Miroku and I guessed that it would be like running with little boats attached to my feet, and given enough practice, I'd be able to do this across any distance like running over the ground.

There was a large lake about half a day's sprint from our little village, so once the snows had melted and the ice had thawed, I made the short trip to try my hand at this technique. I stood at the shore for some time, going over how it should work in my head. I practiced walking around with extra youki pocketed under my feet, which felt strange and squashy. By the time the sun rose the next morning, I felt like I was ready. I took a deep breath and steadied myself before making the first leap. I felt the shift of youki toward my feet... but it didn't work quite like I'd expected it to from my experiences on dry land.

I splashed into the near-freezing lake water, shocked at the water's temperature. During the horrible swim back to shore, I realized I should have started practicing during the middle of the summer. Once I reached the shore, I curled into a tiny ball and shivered uncontrollably, deterred from any further attempts that day. Stupid water.

Some hours later, I started a fire and set out my clothes to dry in the afternoon sun. I decided that my next few attempts would be on smaller scales closer to the water. I moved the squashy youki-walk from the dirt to the very edge of the water in small steps until I was satisfied that it would work. Once I was able to stand on the surface without sinking, I tried a few short hops. After I was familiar with that motion, I continued with making small increases to the technique.

I discovered that my motion was restricted to very little vertical movement, because the father I fell, the more focused youki it would take to cushion my descent without breaking the surface tension of the water. I knew I wouldn't be able to focus that much energy without a whole lot of practice, so I restrained my movement to a straight line and didn't try to leap in large arcs. After about a week, I had grown comfortable enough with the technique to use it easily along the shore. Finally, I decided to try moving across the lake.

The first two touch-offs were perfectly executed, and I had made it nearly halfway across the lake. The third, however, was rudely interrupted by a large fish leaping from the water just before I touched off again, breaking my concentration and resulting in my second dunk in the frigid water. At this point, I realized two things. First, I would need to be a lot more experienced to do this sort of traveling across anything bigger than a pond, and second, the swim back to shore was really going to suck.

I was going to need some help.

Inuyasha and Kikyo came to visit us a short time later. Over dinner that evening, Inuyasha brought to light an interesting option I hadn't thought of before... and strangely, Miroku hadn't, either. "What about that stupid tanuki that used to take us places?"

A priceless combination of embarrassment and disbelief clouded Miroku's normally serene expression as he sat in silence, apparently surprised with himself that he had forgotten about Hachi. "Yes… I believe you're right."

"He would take me all the way over there?" I somehow didn't believe the old raccoon would lift a finger for me without some sort of massive reward.

"He would consider it an honor to assist you, I'm sure." I didn't believe his words to hold much truth, but the next day he handed me a sealed letter and gave me instructions on how to find Hachi. "If you would give him this letter when you see him, I would be greatly honored."

I was slightly surprised at the sudden opportunity I had to make the next step in my journey. It wasn't such a tearful goodbye as my last departure had been, but I knew they worried about my safety while I was abroad. I promised them that I would come home soon…

Hachi, I discovered, was not only a cowardly, greedy raccoon, but also a horny old bastard. When I arrived at his den, there were noises emanating from within that clearly said I should come back sometime next week. So I found a sturdy tree to sit in and I waited. And waited. And waited. Eight days after I had arrived, I was ready to storm in there toss his "guests" out on their asses. When they finally emerged from the den, I was rather surprised (maybe even impressed) at the sheer number and variety of youkai females. Hachi followed closely behind and smacked on of the girls on her rump, eliciting a squeak of surprise. There were brief shouts of goodbyes and "See you next year" from some of the older women before Hachi turned to make his way toward a burbling stream nearby.

I used a cautious approach and slipped into an illusion of what I'd looked like the last time he'd seen me. I scampered up to him while calling out his name, and he still jumped in surprised fright. "Sh-Shippo? What are you doing here all by yourself? Where is everyone else?"

"I need your help, Hachi-sama," I said, using my best sad-and-scared expression. "I've got to go somewhere far away and I can't get there on my own! Miroku said that you might be able to help me..." I could see confusion written all over the old raccoon's furry face. "I've discovered that some of my relatives live across the water to the west, and I need your help getting over there! There's so much I didn't get to learn from my parents and I need to know everything, and this is the only way I can grow up!" I paused and withdrew Miroku's latter from my vest. "Miroku also asked that I give you this when I got here."

You know, I hadn't been too sure he'd take me anywhere. He'd really looked suspicious of my request and worried that I might be running away from my group, but after he'd read that letter, his entire demeanor changed. I still don't know what Miroku had written to make such a difference, but between the strange choking sound and the sudden flourish of smiles and offers for dinner before we started the journey, I figured it must have been something very persuasive.

Before we left, he asked me if I was sure I wanted to make this journey by myself. I guess he was astounded that such a little kit would be comfortable being alone in a strange place. When I dropped the illusion and revealed how much bigger I'd gotten, he made a sound of understanding. "I hadn't thought you'd come this far by yourself unless you had something like this up your sleeve." He chuckled heartily as he packed a small bag. "Well then, let's go."

The trip was long and boring, but at least I didn't have to run or take any uncomfortable dips in the endlessly deep water that stretched out for miles in every direction. The pointless conversation we had to pass the time wasn't very noteworthy or interesting… A few days after we had left, we caught sight of the foreign shoreline. "Shippo, I hope you find what you're searching for here," he said. "If you're not sure about this, I'll take you back now. But once I leave, you'll have to find another way home."

He had a very important point; I would be stuck here for some time while I searched for answers, but I didn't really know where to begin, and I definitely wouldn't have a way to come back home if I changed my mind next week. "I need to do this." I said, jumping down from his back onto the rocky beach. I waved once before he slowly turned around and made his way back out over the water.

I could smell the scent of fish and humans nearby, so I made my way north and found a small group of homes and some men carrying strings of fish between poles on their shoulders. I could hear them talking and laughing, and I realized that I had no idea what they were saying.

I sighed in resignation and leapt away from the village. I would need to spend quite some time in this unfamiliar territory in order to learn anything useful. They spoke other languages here; their culture and beliefs were different from what I'd grown accustomed to. I'd need to tread lightly and take my time to learn as much as possible, for I wouldn't be able to just barge into the nearest castle and demand information about local kitsune youkai. It would take stealth, subterfuge, and a whole lot of research...

I had the feeling that I was about to have plenty of opportunities to hone each and every skill native to my kitsune heritage.