InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ I.W.P.R. Kagome ❯ Test (Part 1) ( Chapter 2 )

OK, this is mostly just a humorous interlude, since I have absolutely no idea what to do next. I had a plan, but kinda threw it away…. So, I was basically just winging it here. -.-;;; But it gave me a lot of new ideas for the next chapters. Suggestions are welcome, though, just so you know. I need all the help I can get…

Disclaimer: No, Inuyasha does not belong to me. I just freeload him off my friends. ^.^ Aaaah…being able to watch the first 109 episodes without spending a penny is wonderful, don't you think? ^o^

"BITCH!" Inuyasha yelled.

"WHAT! Don't call me a bitch, you cat-eared dog!" Kagome yanked on one furry triangle for emphasis.

"CAT-EARED?!"

"You know, Kagome-chan is righ-ECCHI!" Sango sent a rippling wave of psionics towards the purple-clad boy, effectively knocking him backwards.

"But Sango," Miroku protested, eyes glazed, "you were just beckoning to me; the way you sat leaning just slightly forward…. If you would only accept with your mind as well as your heart, you would surely find that I was not at fault for-"

"Shut up!"

Inuyasha and Miroku glanced at each other. Their eyes mirrored each other in mutual agreement-they would have their way, lecherous or not. For the first time in a long time, they teamed up and attacked.

And so the war began.

~*Sesshoumaru*~

Sesshoumaru sighed as he watched the foursome through the cameras. It looked like Inuyasha and Miroku were innocents being used as punching bags, but knowing those two, they probably deserved what they were getting….

Then again, maybe he should intervene before the two girls killed them. It wouldn't do to have two corpses riding on the way to the Second Asteroid Belt.

"Rin."

"Hai, Sesshoumaru-sama?" A girl the age of six or seven popped up near his knee, beaming.

"Please separate Inuyasha and Miroku from Sango and Kagome before anybody gets injured." If they haven't already been ripped apart. "If you wish, you may also put them through a Test."

"Hai, Sesshoumaru-sama!" Rin skipped up the steps, giggling as she hopped up and down from the backlash in one place until she decided to finally use her psion powers to get up.

Then she soared-gliding up the tube and into the room. Sesshoumaru settled back to watch the show.

~*~*~

"Tadaima!" Rin cried.

Inuyasha and Miroku suddenly sat perfectly straight, no evidence of their former mischief hanging around them.

Kagome stared, one hand still pinching Inuyasha's twitching right ear.

In front of them stood a girl wearing a yellow…yukata? In this century? She shrugged it off as a childish infatuation.

A portion of her hair was pulled to one side in a bobbing half-ponytail, and her wide eyes were innocently sparkling. And yet…. She glanced at Inuyasha. He was sitting stock-still, amber eyes staring blankly ahead of him, the model of discipline. Only his furiously twitching ear gave away the fact that he was, in fact, truly alive. Miroku was the same-minus the ear-twitching, of course.

"Sesshoumaru-sama told Rin to separate the four of you!" she chirped cheerfully. "And so…!"

She swept her arms open, and the seatbelts unbuckled themselves as Inuyasha and Miroku were swept into a pair of doors that had somehow swept open, and Kagome and Sango into a different set of doors. Snapping her fingers, she chortled with glee as the doors shut.

"Sesshoumaru-sama told Rin that she could give you a Test," she informed them right before the doors molded back into the wall. Laughing softly to herself, she floated back down. She really, really liked them-maybe she could play with them? I'll go ask Sesshoumaru-sama.

~*Kagome*~

"Test?" Kagome echoed, looking around uneasily.

As if in answer, light began filtering in the room, gathering at one point near the left…wall? It seemed like it.

"What are we supposed to do?" The room looked huge, but Kagome's voice didn't echo; instead, it sounded muffled, dampened.

"I don't know…." Sango's calm voice stated, seemingly calm, though her magenta eyes were darting back and forth as if in panic.

Gradually, their eyes began to adjust, and more and more light came in by the second, though the left side was always brighter than the rest.

"Hey, what's that?" Kagome whispered to Sango, pointing. Dark shapes-blurs, more like-were forming right where the light was brightest.

Then, without warning, they struck.

~*Miroku*~

"Test." Inuyasha's voice was flat. "Another test."

"Well, she is fond of them," Miroku muttered ruefully. "Probably her only fault."

"Can't believe I once said she was an OK kid," Inuyasha hissed, amber eyes boring a hole into the general direction of where they'd last seen Rin.

"You said that?" Miroku was mildly surprised. Rin was a good kid, surprisingly enough, and even Sesshoumaru seemed to go softer on her than others, but Inuyasha?

"Hey, she cooked me ramen. What else could I say?"

He sighed. Getting to Inuyasha's heart wasn't hard as long as you knew what his stomach loved.

"What do you think she's doing this time?"

"She never does anything old, Inuyasha," Miroku reminded him dryly. "Last time it was giant teddy bears. Before that, giant worms. Before that, giant broccoli and asparagus." She likes things big, apparently.

Inuyasha shuddered.

Now that had been a nightmare. For Inuyasha, of course. The hanyou didn't mind vegetables, but when those vegetables began screaming, "Eat me!" and running around, that was when he got disturbed. Worse, they had begun to multiply until they filled the room and they had to eat them to be able to survive. The catch was that it was Fasting Day, a day when all youkai were all required to go without food in order to build up their youki or something like that. Pointless.

It wasn't as if he hadn't emerged unscarred, either. Since Inuyasha was going through Fasting Day, he couldn't eat, and had passed the role onto him….

In short, Inuyasha had had to do whatever whenever Miroku wanted for the next month. Aaaah…now that was a good month. Having an uncouth hanyou by your side made you seem more chivalrous and attractive-at least to the girls.

"Looks like we don't have to wait anymore," Inuyasha interrupted his musings.

What has she planned this time?

Ah. Giant beads.

~*Sango*~

Sango barely had time to duck when a large black something flew over her head. She heard a loud thump! behind her as whatever-it-was landed. Painfully, if I'd have my way. Ahead of her, she heard Kagome gasp.

"I-I don't believe it…" she was muttering. Her voice was shocked and bewildered. "What kind of test is this?" she cried.

"Kagome-chan, what is it?" Sango rushed to her friend's side. She was kneeling on the floor, running her hands over a giant box. Upon seeing what it was, she froze and read and re-read the bold, colorful lettering on top.

Painting Kit: Ages 10 and Up

"Well, she is pretty young," Sango volunteered.

"She looks like she's about six. It says ages ten and up." Well…

"Maybe she didn't want us to play with watercolors."

Kagome ignored her. "What are we supposed to do?"

And then the Painting Kit (Ages 10 and Up) answered her.

~*Inuyasha*~

Inuyasha swore as he dodged one rampaging, black bead with blue-swirls and silver glitter that he could tell just wanted to rip him apart. There was blood-lust in those glitter pieces, all right.

"Inuyasha, if you would please stop moving around and getting in the way of the beads," Miroku's amused voice interrupted him.

"What?" The injustice of it all. "That bead was clearly trying to-"

"Steal your soul?"

"They can do that?"

Miroku sighed. "Look."

Inuyasha glanced at the beads. Now they were shooting out strings that were attaching to each other and forming a pattern. "So?"

"Inuyasha, when will you learn? Watch."

Sulking, Inuyasha sat Indian-style on the ground, his Tessaiga lightly balanced against one shoulder, watching as the brightly colored beads danced along the floor, warily keeping an eye on that black-and-blue striped one with silver glitter. Just in case.

~*Sesshoumaru*~

Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes. "Idiot brother," he muttered.

"Sesshoumaru-sama?"

"Hai, Rin?"

"Jaken-sama said that it wasn't nice to call someone an idiot, Sesshoumaru-sama." Rin folded her hands in her lap and nodded knowingly.

"All right, Rin. This Sesshoumaru will not call the hanyou an idiot. After all, that is too big a compliment to pay." Delinquent would fit better.

Rin beamed.

"Does Sesshoumaru-sama like Rin's new Test?" Rin chirped.

"The beads are a nice touch," Sesshoumaru replied thoughtfully. "However, I don't believe you should have given Sango and Kagome the painting kit."

"But I had to give it to them, Sesshoumaru-sama." Rin's eyes were downcast, and a small, sad smile graced her lips. "They aren't skilled enough yet to do it themselves."

Sesshoumaru watched impassively as Rin buried herself in his tail. True, Rin. Very true.

~*Kagome*~

"Right…so we're just supposed to paint?" Kagome asked skeptically, eying the paintbrush in her hand. It was overly large, and would require two hands to actually paint. Kiddie paint and large paintbrushes? It doesn't fit.

"Apparently." Sango waved a hand towards the box.

Paint, It said.

Sighing, Kagome grabbed the lid of one huge container of paint and yanked it open. A brilliant amber burst out, nearly spraying her.

Amber, she thought, slightly disgusted. The mere thought of anything that reminded her of that jerk was maddening.

Sango smirked at the glare Kagome sent the amber paint. "Does it remind you of anyone?" she teased.

"Shut up," Kagome growled. Hefting up the paintbrush, she was about to open another container, when she felt a pulse.

"Sango, did you feel that?"

"Feel what?"

She shook it off. Must've been her imagination.

Sango walked over to the amber paint. "Well, if you're not gonna use this, then I am. Amber's a pretty color."

Kagome stared. How can anyone associate a color that…that jerk has as pretty, I don't know.

She dipped her pink-handled brush into the amber paint, brought it out doused with the liquid, and paused.

"Uhhh…Kagome-chan? Where do we paint?" Sango sweatdropped.

"I dunno," she shrugged. "Anywhere, I guess."

"OK…in that case, you take that side of the room," Sango motioned with her free hand towards the left. "I'm taking this side." Kagome nodded her ascent, and watched Sango, not feeling like painting anything.

Swiveling on one foot, Sango hummed as she began painting with large flourishes. She had only covered a few feet when she was brought to an abrupt stop. "What?" she muttered, pressing a hand to the paint-laden brush. "There's paint on this, that's for sure, but it's not going on the floor." Bringing up one finger, she found not a single trace of paint on it.

"That girl-Rin-must be a very powerful psion," Kagome murmured, awestruck. "This isn't natural paint."

"No…" Sango shook her head. "It's not even paint. Not what we know, anyway. Father told me about this once-it's called Heart's Blood. He never said what properties it had, though, but warned me that it could only be made by the most powerful of psions."

"How many?" We should've heard of her if she was this powerful.

"What?" Sango started.

"How many psions are this powerful?" Kagome tapped the tip of the brush, ignoring the sticky feel of the paint. "Your dad loves statistics, he should know."

"He said…three people per planet, at most."

Impossible…who is this girl?

Golden paint slowly sunk into pink flesh, tracing a pathway through the veins to the gray-blue-eyed girl's heart.

~*Miroku*~

"So, what does it say?" Inuyasha barked impatiently.

"You can read, can't you?" Miroku answered mildly. Why do I even bother?

"Too lazy," he grunted.

"It doesn't say anything." 3…2…1…

"WHAT?!" Inuyasha leapt to his feet. "So we've been waiting here doing nothing?"

"It's not like it affects us in any way," Miroku informed him dryly.

"There could be a time limit on it! Like that time with the teddy bears." Inuyasha shuddered. That had been a particularly unpleasant time for him.

Snicker. Of course, it would take a long time for Inuyasha to consent to play with a teddy bear. He failed that test.

Miroku himself had, of course, thrown all dignity aside and began playing Tea with the teddy bears while Inuyasha had merely glowered at the bears, as if they were a threat to his life.

"Knowing Rin," Miroku walked over to the same bead that had been harassing Inuyasha, "we will probably have to ask the beads."

"Ask them."

"What? You want me to ask them?"

"Who else?"

"How about you?"

"No way! As if I'd consent to-watch it, bouzu!" It was an accident, Inuyasha. Truly. My staff just slipped and fell on your head, while my ofudas just happened to drop out from my sleeve and onto your ears, which just happen to be your most sensitive spot.

"Inuyasha, I am so glad that you have volunteered to ask the beads what to do," Miroku thanked him in his most sincere voice.

Huffing, Inuyasha braced himself and stalked over to a stormy-gray colored bead. It looked nicer than the other one….

Me: 2, Inuyasha: 0.

~*Sango*~

Well, since it looks like I won't be able to paint with this, I won't, Sango decided.

"Here, Kagome-chan. Why don't you try using this brush and seeing if the paint will work for you?" Sango suggested, holding out the brush.

"All right…" Kagome held her hands out, dropping her own brush with a clatter. When their fingers met, however, they were thrown apart to opposite sides of the room, and an angry crackling began filling the air.

"What's happening?" Sango shouted, moving immediately into a defensive position.

"I don't know," Kagome replied softly, barely heard by her own ears. Warily, she crouched forward and grabbed her blue-colored brush-and the noise stopped.

"It looks like," Sango began, then stopped, meeting Kagome's eyes unsurely, as if afraid to speak the next words.

"Like the brushes are meant for us alone," Kagome finished, fear and awe filling her eyes.

But…something like this…something this personal, and so attuned to us, is only supposed to be able to be done by people who know us inside and out, from the depths of our inner hearts to the façades we show to other people…!

"Sango-chan," Kagome implored.

"Kagome-chan?" She looks so scared.

A pause.

"It's nothing…Sango-chan." She turned away.

I know what words you were going to say. "I'm afraid." But…Higurashis do not admit weaknesses, do they?

~*Inuyasha*~

"So, let me get this straight," Inuyasha said to the bead. "We're supposed to ride on top of you and you will lead us to the girls, who will be painting and what you want us to do is decorate what they're painting with the beads. Is that it?"

The bead rearranged its golden sparkles to say Yes.

"Not doing it." No way in hell. "Ow! Bouzu, watch it!" Inuyasha rubbed his head, glaring furiously.

"Have you forgotten that Rin could keep us here as long as she wants?" Miroku queried, eyes narrowed. "Do you or do you not remember the giant worms?"

Oh. The worms. Well….

"Keh!"

"Let's get on, then." Miroku lightly hopped on the lead bead of one string. Grumbling, Inuyasha followed him.

A/N: A little shorter than usual (mainly because I wanted to get it out before you guys killed me. -.-;;;), and also in a different format! I'll be experimenting with the things that I like in here, so bear with me. Every chapter will probably be a little different in format and things like that. ^.^;;;