InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Chichiue ❯ Parental Guidance ( Chapter 3 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Leafy ferns swished out of the way of the speeding black tires, some unfortunate few being crushed into the worn path beneath. Kagome took one hand off the handlebars of her bike to shield her face from a low-hanging branch, pedaling for all she was worth. Just a little further… She broke the line of trees and sped out into the clearing where the Bone-Eater’s well lay. She was only a few meters away… four… three… She dropped her bike and ran the rest of the way. Almost there, almost… She dove into the well with a triumphant “Ha!” She’d made it!

She was almost halfway down the well when a clawed hand shot down and grabbed the back of her shirt. She was hoisted back up and turned around to face an irate dog-demon, still dangling in the air above the well.

“And just where are you going?” Inuyasha glared at her, his face smudged with dirt from the Sits he’d already received.

“Where do you think I’m going?” Kagome glared back. “Home, of course!”

“I don’t think so,” Inuyasha replied. “We’ve got shards to find.”

“Put me down, Inuyasha. I have to go home!”

“No.”

“I’ll say the word…” Kagome threatened.

Inuyasha smirked. “Not while I’m holding you, you won’t.”

The girl’s face darkened, blue eyes clouding over with anger. “Dang it, Inuyasha! Put me down!”

He smirked again. “Not ‘til we’re back in the village.” And with that, he tossed her over his shoulder and started back the way they had come.

“You put me down this instant!! I swear, dog-boy, I am going S-word you ‘til your back breaks!! PUT ME DOWN!!!” Kagome’s angry screams echoed through the forest, slowly growing fainter as they moved away.

A cool breeze blew through Inuyasha’s forest, rustling the leaves on the trees and the underbrush growing below. Something shimmered in the air among the tall stalks, at first looking almost like a speck of dust or perhaps a small pebble suspended in midair. The point of black light pulsed once, twice, then grew swiftly, expanding into a swirling black vortex.

Inuri fell through the portal, landing heavily on hands and knees in the grass. He looked over his shoulder just in time to see the portal shrink and disappear with an almost comical little “blip.” His eyes widened and he felt the bottom drop out of his stomach. How was he supposed to get back home now?! He looked around anxiously, taking in the unfamiliar forest, the sounds of birds and small animals moving about, the absolutely untamed scent about the place.

Then another scent touched his nose: a dog-demon! He sniffed the air and then even bent his head to snuffle at the ground a few times. Another dog-demon had moved through there, either very recently, or very frequently. This was claimed territory, but beyond that, he couldn’t smell any details. But then, that was all he needed – if someone had ‘claimed’ this area, then they would be able to tell him where he was. He climbed to his feet, but then found that he lost the scent. Cursing his only partial demon blood, he knelt on the ground again, needing to be close to the source in order to catch the scent at all.

He followed the scent all that afternoon, often having to crawl along the ground just to be able to smell it. It wound all throughout the forest, sometimes doubling back on itself or wandering about in circles. He wondered more than a few times if this inu was possibly insane, or maybe just had an incredibly inept sense of direction. Either way, though, this was his only lead, and he was determined to stick with it.

By the end of the day, Inuri was dirty, tired, and lost. He crawled a few more inches, but then, with a frustrated growl, climbed to his feet. This was getting him nowhere! He hadn’t seen any sign of anything living here besides the trees and squirrels, much less any civilization! He let out a curse and punched a tree beside him, then flushed when he realized what he’d said. ‘Kaa-chan would wash his mouth out with soap if she heard him talking like that. He sighed, and leaned his forehead against the tree he’d just hit, letting his shoulders slump in defeat. It was hopeless.

One of his ears perked up as it picked up the sound of water rushing nearby. He quickly looked up and turned in the direction the sound was coming from. Could it be.. a spring?! Hope soared through him as he rushed toward it, because, even if he was lost in a strange forest with no way of getting home, at least he could wash off and relax a little!

What he found beyond the trees was not a hot spring, but instead a cold, rushing river. He kicked off one shoe to test the water, quickly pulling back when the icy temperature sent goose-bumps all up his skin. He eyed the water almost accusingly for a moment, but then just gave up. Sighing, he began to remove his dirty, might-as-well-be-ruined clothes, absently pulling out his amulet and slipping it over his neck. No sense in bathing in his demon form, just to come out smelling like a wet dog.

He had just managed to settle into the water, gritting his teeth the whole way, when things really started to go wrong. First, the wind picked up tremendously and blew his pile of clothing right off of the boulder he’s set it on and straight into the water. And then, as he was floundering around trying to salvage his now-soaked clothing, he heard the sound of voices approaching.

He dropped his clothes, only realizing as an afterthought that they were now steadily being carried away on the current, and darted behind one of the large boulders sticking out into the water.

He only had to wait a few moments before the voices came close enough to tell that it was two girls, probably somewhere around his own age.

They were chatting happily about various girl things, until one of them sighed and complained, “Mou, Inuyasha can be so stupid..” The other, older-sounding girl just chuckled.

That got his attention. He shifted closer to the boulder, trying to hear them without exposing himself.

“It’s not funny!” the first girl whined, sounding half-offended. “I was supposed to go pick up my make-up work at noon today! Now I’m gonna be even farther behind!”

The other girl laughed again. “You know, as annoying as it is, you have to admit it’s kind of sweet how protective he is of you..”

“Sango-chan!” the other girl almost screeched, sounding outraged. Inuri winced behind his boulder. “He’s not being protective, and he’s definitely not being ‘sweet!’ If anything, he’s just obsessing over finding the stupid Shikon shards!” The older girl, now dubbed ‘Sango’ just chuckled again. It seemed nothing was going to ruin her good mood.

The other girl seemed to have noticed it as well. “Ne, Sango-chan.. What’s with you today? You’re being awfully- hm?!” She suddenly cut off and all sounds from the other side of the boulder went dead silent. Inuri frowned and leaned forward, straining to hear them.

When he still couldn’t hear anything, he carefully reached up and grabbed the chain of his amulet, pulling the cool metal disc away from his skin so that he morphed back into his demon form.

“-hear that? I think there’s someone here..”

The younger girl suddenly gasped, then seemed to muffle it with a hand. “There’s a demon nearby!” she whispered urgently, almost inaudible even to Inuri’s enhanced hearing. “I can feel it! It’s really close!”

Inuri drew in a sharp breath, and let his amulet fall back against his chest, changing him human again. He stepped back from the boulder and took a deep breath, preparing to call out to them. They’d probably start looking around if they were afraid of a demon hanging around, and it really wouldn’t be good for them to come find him as he was, well.. naked.

“Um, hello?” he called, hoping they wouldn’t come running around to his side of the rock separating them. He heard the girls still, listening tensely. He swallowed hard and continued, “Um, you wouldn’t happen to have a towel or something I could use, would you?” He stuck his head out into view, looking over at the two girls sheepishly.

He’d been right; they both looked to be around his age, one maybe a year or two older, the other a couple years younger. They were both wearing light summer yukatas, and it looked like they had been half-way through disrobing when they’d hastily thrown their clothes back on – probably when they’d realized they weren’t alone out on this river.

But what the heck were two girls doing coming down to bathe in a river like this?

Inuri felt his face begin to heat in embarrassment as they stared at him. “Um, my clothes sort of fell in the river, and got washed downstream..”

The girls exchanged glances, and then the shorter one turned to scramble back to their pile of bath supplies. She came hurrying back, towel in hand, and held it out to him timidly, blushing slightly. “Here, you can use this..” Inuri nodded gratefully and took the towel, disappearing back behind the boulder.
He half-grimaced as he wrapped the towel around his waist. It was fluffy, soft, and pink. Ick. Well, beggars can’t be choosers, I guess.. he thought with a sigh, and waded back out of the water to where the two girls stood waiting, pausing only long enough to snag Tetsusaiga from where it was still lying on top of the boulder. At least that hadn’t fallen in the water. ‘Kaa-chan would seriously kill him if he lost his father’s sword. …Assuming he ever managed to get back home, of course…

“Um..” He scratched the back of his head, looking at the two girls sheepishly. They looked back at him, one suspiciously, the other with polite curiosity on her face. “I’m, uh, actually kinda lost,” he admitted, his face flushing once again.

The girls exchanged wondering looks again. “Well, we can take you back to the village, if you like,” the shorter one offered after a moment of silence, while the older girl just watched him through slightly narrowed eyes, not looking particularly happy with the situation.

Inuri gave a relieved smile, trying to ignore the glare coming from the tall pony-tailed girl. “Thanks! That’d be great,” he grinned, causing the short, friendly girl to smile back shyly, blushing slightly.

The girls turned to lead the way to their ‘village,’ (What was with this? Bathing in rivers, and living in a ‘village’? He really must be out in the boonies…) stopping to gather up their basket of bath supplies. Even with his human hearing, Inuri could pick up snatches of their whispered conversation.

“I thought you said you felt a demon aura.” Ah, so the taller, suspicious one was ‘Sango.’

“Well, maybe I imagined it.. or it left…” The other girl still remained unnamed to him, but she was sure a lot friendlier than Sango. And cute too, although he had to admit they were both pretty good-looking.. She shook her head, making her glossy black hair wave back and forth against her back. “We can’t just leave him out in the forest, though, especially if he’s lost..” Sango just ‘hmm’ed unhappily.

Inuri cleared his throat and lengthened his stride to catch up with the two girls, careful of the towel still tied around his waist. “Um, this is gonna sound strange-” Well, maybe not, if they know about demon auras and things like that.. “-but you wouldn’t happen to know someone by the name of Inuyasha, would you?” He held his breath as they both stopped and looked over at him in surprise. The portal had brought him here, so there was a good chance that his father was here, and that the people here knew him.. right?

“Who’s asking?” Sango replied challengingly, her eyes narrowing further.

“Got white hair, dog ears on top of his head?”

The shorter girl frowned slightly at him. Great, now she was getting suspicious of him too.. “Yeah..” she answered slowly.

Inuri let out a sigh of relief. They knew him! It had to be him – after all, how many white-haired half-demons could there be who went by the name Inuyasha? He took a deep breath.

“Well, he’s my father.”

The girls’ things clattered to the ground loudly as they both just gaped at him.

“I’ll kill him!!”

Inuri glanced at Sango, running beside him, as they tried to keep up with the other girl’s furious dash through the forest. “What’s with her?” he finally managed to ask once they emerged from the trees into a quaint, medieval-looking village.

Sango continued to glare ahead, and her voice came out in a low, angry growl. “I guess Kagome-chan doesn’t much like the idea of Inuyasha being a father.. not that I can blame her.” She put on a new burst of speed, leaving Inuri to skid to a stop, staring after her in shock.

That girl’s name was Kagome?! But that was his mother’s..!!

It suddenly occurred to him what this could mean and he had to brace his hands on his knees for support, feeling almost sick to his stomach. This Kagome was young, pretty.. She even looked kind of like his mother. Could it be possible that his father had abandoned them and gone off and found some pretty, young girl that looked just like his old wife, and even went by the same name? It was sick. No way could this be the same guy his mother had fallen in love with!

Grimacing, he pushed himself upright, and set off after the two girls again. He’d have to find out the truth sooner or later…

“INUYASHAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!”

Said dog-demon looked up guiltily from where he had been about to pummel a certain kitsune cub, only to see an enraged Kagome running at him full-tilt. He barely had time to drop Shippou in shock and process the sight before the girl’s hands were around his neck and banging his head repeatedly against the wall of Kaede’s hut.

“Since-” WHAM “-when do-” WHACK “-you-” BANG “-have-” POW “-a SON?!”

“Get off!!” Inuyasha coughed, finally managing to pry her hands off of his neck. “What the heck are you babbling about?! I don’t have a son!”

“I beg to differ.”

They both looked around at the teenaged boy standing several feet away on the ground in front of Kaede’s porch. He was still dressed in nothing but the fluffy pink towel, which did detract from his image, but only slightly. He stood with his feet firmly planted, his arms folded across his chest, a battered katana clenched in one hand, his face not quite a scowl, but definitely hostile as he locked gazes with the white-haired young man on the porch. It suddenly struck Kagome just how much alike the two looked.

“Who the heck are you?!” Inuyasha snarled, slowly climbing to his feet and almost unconsciously starting to put an arm out in front of Kagome.

“Apparently, he’s the son you ‘don’t have,’” the girl replied sarcastically, folding her arms and glaring at him.

“I don’t have a son!”

“Oh, right, that would explain how I’m standing right here,” Inuri growled back, glowering up at him.

Inuyasha bristled at his tone. “Look, I don’t know who you are, but I am not your father!”

“You ABANDONNED me and my mother when I was only a year old!!”

“And just when was that?!”

“Sixteen years ago, stupid!”

Everyone suddenly went dead silent, staring at him in shock. Inuri stopped and looked around, first at Sango standing to his side, then back at the pair on the porch. “What?”

Inuyasha broke the silence, letting out a low, predatory chuckle. “Okay, bastard,” he growled, smirking as he looked back up at the other boy, golden eyes glinting dangerously, “now how about telling us who you really are?”

Inuri came pretty close to growling out loud, despite being in his human form. “I’m you’re son! But I guess I can’t really expect you to remember me, seeing how quickly you ran out on my mother!”

“Shut up! I don’t have a son!” Inuyasha snarled, his hand flying to his sword threateningly. “I don’t know who you or your stupid mother are!!”

“Don’t you dare call her stupid!” Inuri yelled back, drawing his own sword. “The only dumb thing she ever did was falling in love with a jerk like you!”

After a comment like that, he was rather surprised when he was again met with absolute silence.

“Inuyasha..?” Kagome questioned, lightly touching the dog-demon’s arm.

The hanyou just continued to stare down at the rusted sword being pointed at him. He’d know that demon aura anywhere! But how..?! “Where did you get that?!”

“This was my father’s sword, Tetsusaiga! Ring any bells?” Inuri growled, trying to look as threatening as possible with the thin, rusted may-have-once-been-a-sword.

Inuyasha blinked, then snarled back, “No, this is Tetsusaiga!!” He pulled the sword from its sheath with the hand already resting there, the blade transforming into the giant fang almost before he had it drawn completely. Inuyasha glanced down at the blade, “And it looks like you’re not as human as you look, boy,” he chuckled darkly, starting to bend his knees slightly, preparing to lunge at the other boy.

Inuri just continued to glare at him, not recognizing the impending danger. “No, I guess I wouldn’t be if I have a stupid hanyou for a father..”

Inuyasha’s eyes blazed with rage, before he sprang off the porch, snarling. “Bastard!!”

Just then Kagome’s voice rang out from behind the enraged dog-demon. “Inuyasha, wait! Osuwari!!”

With a loud ‘THUMP’ Inuyasha did a face-plant straight into the ground. “Agh, what the hell was that for?!” Inuyasha’s voice was muffled against the ground, but Inuri still took a slight step away from his prone form in repulsion. Honestly, this guy couldn’t utter one sentence without throwing in some kind of curse word. Maybe that’s why ‘Kaa-chan was so strict about him swearing…

He looked up when Kagome came over to them, stopping just a few feet away from him. “Eh, gomen, but uh.. What’s your name?” she finally just asked bluntly. (They both ignored Inuyasha’s still-muffled voice. “Why the HELL do you wanna know his name?!”)

He watched her suspiciously before answering slowly, “Inuri.”

The girl nodded once, then looked back up at him. She’d have to phrase this carefully, so as not to freak him out, but if she was right… “Inuri-kun.. Um, what year is it?”

Inuri looked at her like she was some kind of freak. She didn’t know what year it was? Maybe they didn’t have calendars out here in the country.. “2020, why?”

Kagome’s eyes widened, her mouth forming a little ‘o’. “Well, that explains a lot..” she murmured, before looking back up into Inuri’s questioning face. “Why don’t we all go inside? There’s a lot that needs to be explained..”

Inuri frowned to himself, but followed the others into the small wooden hut.

Kagome looked up from her hands folded in her lap when Inuri came back into the main room of Kaede’s hut, now dressed in the red and white priest robes the old miko had been able to lend him. She watched him as he came to sit a little ways away from Inuyasha, the dog-demon glaring at him and growling softly as he sat down. Inuri matched his glare, and both shifted a little farther away from each other, folding their arms sullenly.

She was again struck with how much Inuri looked like Inuyasha’s human form, especially now, dressed in the red pants and white kimono as he was. There were subtle differences, of course, like Inuri’s eyes being blue, or his hair having a slightly thinner, softer look to it, not like the thick inky black hair of Inuyasha’s human form.

The sound of Inuri’s voice pulled her out of her thoughts. “So.. What did you want to talk about?” he asked, resting his folded arms on his knees as he leaned back against the wall.

Kagome looked between the two boys before deciding on addressing Inuyasha directly. “I think.. I think Inuri’s from the future.”

“Huh?!”

“What? You mean like from your time?” Inuyasha asked, leaning forward, eyes narrowing.

Kagome shook her head. “No, he’s from about 23 years in the future even from my time.”

“Then how did he end up here?!”

“Did I miss something?” Inuri asked loudly, cutting the two of them off. “What do mean I’m from the future?”

Kagome turned to look at him, wondering how he would react to the information. She’d certainly been in shock when she’s first gotten here, but then he already seemed to know about demons and things, so maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. Well, only one way to find out.. “Inuri, right now, we’re somewhere in the fifteenth or sixteenth century,” she said carefully, watching as his eyes slowly widened in disbelief. He was looking at her like she was crazy. Kagome swallowed before continuing, looking down at her lap. “So… He could actually be your son, Inuyasha..”

“Wait, wait, wait!” Inuri suddenly cried, interrupting again. He looked over at Kagome shrewdly. “If we’re in the feudal ages, then what did you mean I’m only from 23 years in the future from ‘your time’?”
Kagome blinked, then laughed a bit sheepishly. “Eh, well, I’m also kinda from the future.. But where I’m from, it’s only 1997…”

“1997..?” Inuri breathed, sounding almost like he was in shock. Then, something occurred to him. “Kagome,” he said slowly. “What’s your family name?”

“Why the hell do you wanna know that?” Inuyasha snapped at him, but Kagome answered anyway, looking slightly confused.

“Higurashi.”

Inuri could only stare. That was his mother’s name! “You’ve got a cooky grandfather who’s obsessed with ancient relics and spells and things? And a little brother named Souta who’s really into video games? And a fat cat named Buyo?”

“I.. Yes.. But how do you..?!”

Inuri hesitated, glancing over at Inuyasha, before looking back at the girl. “I think.. you’re my mother.”

“WHAT?!”

Ah, two things, actually, that I wasn’t sure were quite clear enough:

1) When Inuri said Inuyasha abandoned them 16 years ago, Inuyasha just laughed at him. That’s because Inuyasha was stuck to a tree for the last 50 years, so obviously couldn’t be having kids with or running out on anyone.

2) Inuyasha makes a comment that Inuri ‘isn’t as human as he looks’ when they're facing off. Inuri looks human at the moment (so his Tetsusaiga doesn’t transform), but Inuyasha’s Tetsusaiga still transformed when he was getting ready to attack him. So the point is, Tetsusaiga won’t hurt humans, so Inuri couldn’t be human. Ergo, Inuyasha was probably assuming he was some kind of demon or shapeshifter who was just coming to try and cause trouble for them.

Edited & Reposted 9.4.05