InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Okaeri Nasai, Welcome Home ❯ Randomness ( Chapter 12 )

:authoress peeks out onto stage: Erm. . .hi? :ducks assorted pointy objects:

 

Okay, okay—yes, I realize that I haven't updated in a while—

 

Meg: `A while?!' Try three frickin' months!!!

 

-.-;; At least I haven't gotten that many death threats. . .

 

And so, since I probably shouldn't put it off any longer, here's chapter twelve—thank-you once again to everyone who reviewed.

 

Oh, and as a final note, since the only reason I haven't updated is because I have had writer's block—damn you, inspiration fairy!!!—and I am still not over said writer's block. . .this chapter is an amalgamation of several scenes that just kinda. . .popped into my head. In other words, it doesn't really have anything to do with the story, but has a pinch of plot tossed in for good measure ^^;;

 

Okaeri Nasai

 

Chapter 12—Randomness

 

“Kat?” Poke, poke, poke. “Kaaaaaaat?”

 

Kat mumbled something as Meg and Akkiko loomed over her sleeping form.

 

“Good grief, is she going to sleep all day?” Kagome asked.

 

“Looks bloody like it,” Inu-yasha grumbled, balanced on Kagome's bed's baseboard.

 

Akkiko grinned. “I know what'll wake her up!” She leaned down to Kat's ear and whispered, “Hey, Kat. . .spider on your face!!”

 

Meg screamed. Inu-yasha fell off the bed. Kagome sighed. Akkiko rolled her eyes.

 

“Oh yeah. . .that only works on Meg. My bad.”

 

Kat sat up, blearily rubbing her eyes. “Wha?”

 

Inu-yasha pulled himself off the floor, a goose-bump on his head. He glared at Meg. “Did you have to scream like that, bitch?”

 

Meg scowled back at him. “I don't like spiders, okay!” She glared at Akkiko. “That was dirty, Akkiko.”

 

Akkiko smiled. “I'm sorry, but—omigod, there's a spider on your shoulder!!”

 

Meg screamed again, then glared at Akkiko and leapt at her. Unfortunately, Kat had sat up at that exact moment. Meg crashed into her; Kat gave an `oof!' and was rammed into Akkiko, who shrieked as the three fell into an uncoordinated pile of arms, legs and pillows.

 

Inu-yasha stared, an incredulous expression on his face. “How the hell can those three act so stupid all the time, and yet be such great fighters?”

 

“Um. . .” Kagome sweatdropped, smiling awkwardly as Kat, Meg and Akkiko started to untangled themselves.

 

“Erg—the blanket's wrapped around my neck—Akkiko, stop pulling!”

 

“Oops, sorry.”

 

“There was something very unsympathetic about that sorry. . .”

 

“Shut up, Kat.”

 

“Akkiko, you're still pulling!”

 

“Sorry—Kat, watch your—ow! You poked me in the eye!”

 

“My bad—Meg, don't move—kya!”

 

“Kagome, breakfast is ready,” Mrs. Higurashi said, passing the door with a smile and (wisely) ignoring the continuing curses and cries of pain taking place on her daughter's bedroom floor.

 

---

 

:one hour later:

 

The group emerged from the well. Kat, unfortunately, after the initial shock she had experienced of waking up, had fallen back asleep. Akkiko was currently carrying her, piggy-back style.

 

“Someone tell me why I'm doing this?”

 

“Because you volunteered,” Meg said placidly.

 

“No, you volunteered me!” Akkiko snapped, laying Kat on the grass.

 

“Good morning!” The group looked up to see Sango, Miroku, Shippo and Kirara coming towards them.

 

“`Good morning', is a contradiction of terms,” Akkiko said, scowling.

 

“You're just grumpy 'cuz Kat poked you in the eye,” Meg said, kneeling beside said friend and poking her repeatedly. “Kat, wake up. Kat? Wake up. Kat? Wake up. Wake up. Kat, wake up. Wake up, Kat. Come on, Kat, wake up. . .”

 

Things went on in this vein for a while until Kat calmly said, “Meg, poke me one more time and I will hurt you. Painfully.” She sat up once more, again rubbing her eyes.

 

Shippo, who had been observing his big sister, grinned as Meg went over to the others to discuss where they were going to go today. He went up to Kat and began . . . experimenting.

 

Poke. . .poke, poke. “Shippo, please stop it.”

 

Poke, poke, poke. “Shippo. . .”

 

Poke, poke, poke. Kat raised her hand, one long-nailed finger pointed at Shippo. One look at those claws and the little kitsune's hand slowly dropped.

 

Then he turned around and ran, crying, to Meg.

 

“Nee-chan!! Kat's scaring me!!”

 

Meg petted his head. “It's okay,” she said in a soothing voice. Then she glared at Kat. “Kat, stop scaring my little brother.”

 

Akkiko popped up, an evil grin on her face. “Meg, stop snogging my older brother.”

 

Miroku and Meg went bright pink.

 

“What do you have against me and cute monks?” Meg snapped.

 

“Oh, nothing—I just have something against you and my brother, who is a cute monk!”

 

Kat popped up. “Hey, I just thought of something—if Miroku's a monk. . .shouldn't Akkiko be a priestess?”

 

Akkiko blinked. “But . . . but . . . that would mean I would have to innocent!!”

 

Meg sat down. “Akkiko . . . innocent? Brain . . . overload! Cannot—compute!!” Meg head swivelled like a bobble-head, her eyes squiggles.

 

“Whoa, Meg, don't blow a fuse,” Kat cautioned

 

“It's too late for that,” Akkiko said, shaking her head.

 

“Yes, now if you're all quite done, can we get going?” Inu-yasha snapped.

 

There was light-hearted agreement, and the group started down the same path they had gone yesterday. As the sun rose, the going was peaceful; no one was on the road, and Kagome did not sense any jewel shards. Nothing attacked them, and for a while it was just nice to walk, enjoy the sun and the cool breeze.

 

Around mid-afternoon, the forest broke and they could see a small village clustered around a river.

 

“We should see about getting some supplies,” Miroku said. “Meg, would you like to accompany me?”

 

“Sure!” Meg said, coming forward. Then she stopped. “Er. . .maybe first I should. . .” She blushed, awkwardly pointing at her ears.

 

“Here, Meg,” Kat said, rummaging in her backpack and pulling out a kerchief. “You can cover your hair—and your ears—with this.”

 

“Why don't we all just go?” Inu-yasha asked, but Akkiko elbowed him in the ribs.

 

“We'll be waiting right here!” Akkiko said, waving. “See you two later!”

 

Meg and Miroku waved as they started down the path to the village. As they went, they unconsciously took each other's hands.

 

Reaching the village, Miroku pointed out a small outdoor vendor who was selling smoked fish. After bartering for a while, Miroku noticed that prices were higher than normal for the season. When asked about the sudden inflation, the vendor sighed.

 

“We have had a hard time. Up river there is a huge bear demon. It has been eating almost all the fish. We find our nets torn to shreds and our lines smashed.”

 

“A bear demon?” Meg said, drawing closer. “Maybe it has a jewel shard.”

 

“Kagome didn't say anything about sensing a shard, though,” Miroku said.

 

“Rumor is that the bear lives in a den deep in the woods.” The vendor waved in the direction of the road leading out of the village. “The den is underground, where the bear is cool and can escape the hot afternoon sun. It only comes out in the mornings or evenings.” The man's face became sad. “We are a peaceful village. . .but a poor one. We do not have the weapons to rid ourselves of the beast, nor do we have the funds to hire demon slayers.”

 

Meg sniffed in sympathy, patting the man's shoulder. She smiled at him. “Listen, if you give us the supplies we need, we'll get rid of the demon for you—free of charge.”

 

A light of hope sprung up in the man's eyes, but he looked doubtful. “Just the two of you?” he asked, staring at the monk and the oddly-dressed girl.

 

“Oh, no,” Miroku said, laughing. “We have several other companions, and I assure you, a bear demon will be easy to get rid of.” I hope, he thought, a trickle of sweat running down his face.

 

The man's face broke into a smile. “We will give whatever you ask!” he said, disappearing into his shop to gather their order.

 

Miroku smiled at Meg. “That was very nice of you,” he said, “volunteering us.”

 

Meg shrugged, watching two small children run by. “If we don't deal with this now, who knows when that demon will come into the village to feed.”

 

Miroku also watched the children. “. . .Meg?”

 

“Yes?”

 

Miroku stared at her for a few moments, then shook his head and pecked her on the cheek. “Never mind.”

 

A sudden scream made the two look up. A young fisherman ran through the streets, yelling, “The bear demon has awoken! He is prowling around the village outskirts! Run! Hide! We must get away!”

 

The fish vendor came out, bewildered. “B-but why?” he asked, fear clouding his eyes. “It is far too hot—the beast should not. . . it never emerges in the afternoon!”

 

Meg and Miroku glanced at each other. “Naraku?” Meg whispered.

 

Miroku looked grim. “We should get back to the others.”

 

And with that, they raced down the road.

 

---

 

Kagome stretched in the sunlight, yawning. “This is such a nice spot,” she said. “We should have a picnic when Meg and Miroku get back!”

 

Shippo was snoozing beneath a tree. Up in the branches, Inu-yasha was also dozing. Kat and Akkiko had brought out a deck of cards and were playing on a smooth tree trunk. Sango sat nearby, cleaning Hiraikotsu, Kirara by her side.

 

Kagome continued chattering happily, but stopped when she felt something pulse a long way off.

 

Kat and Akkiko looked over. “What's wrong Kagome? Why'd you stop?”

 

“I'm sensing a jewel shard,” Kagome said. “It just. . .appeared.” She looked across the field at the forest that lay outside the village. “Something's coming.”

 

Kat and Akkiko gathered up their cards calmly. They stood by Kagome, staring at the forest.

 

“Want me to go check it out?” Kat said, holding up her feather.

 

“That sounds good,” Akkiko said, nodding.

 

In a flurry of wind and feathers, Kat was off.

 

“Should we get Meg and Miroku?” Akkiko asked, eyeing the village.

 

“They should be back soon,” Sango said, hefting Hiraikotsu over her shoulder and staring after Kat. “I'm sure we'll be fine without them.

 

“Okay.” Akkiko turned and grimaced; Inu-yasha hadn't moved. “Oy! Sleepyhead!” Leaping up onto the same branch, Akkiko leaned in until her face was only an inch away from Inu-yasha's. “Wake up. We'll be getting some action soon.”

 

Inu-yasha opened one eye. “What did you do?”

 

Akkiko smacked him upside the head. “I didn't do anything, jerk. Now get down here.” And with that she leapt to the ground, drawing her swords. “Kagome, d'you have any idea what we're dealing with?”

 

Kagome shook her head. “I can only sense when a jewel shard is close by. I can't tell what kind of creature is using it.”

 

“There's Kat!” Sango said, pointing. Kat landed, looking very freaked-out.

 

“So what is it?” Akkiko asked.

 

“A big—frickin'—bear,” Kat said, enunciating each word with a wince as she drew her spear. “It seems to be heading straight for us, but I'm not sure if it'll go for the village.”

 

“There it is!” Kagome shrieked. By this point, Shippo had woken up and was cowering behind her.

 

The bear lumbered out of the forest at full speed. For a few agonizing minutes it veered close to the village, but then its snout pointed in their direction. It sniffed the breeze, and growled, shaking its shaggy head and loped towards them.

 

“Wow.” Akkiko commented. “Big frickin' bear.”

 

“That's what I said.” Kat rolled her eyes.

 

“Inu-yasha, what are you doing?” Sango, Akkiko and Kat turned to see Kagome yelling up at Inu-yasha, who still hadn't come down from the tree.

 

“Honestly. . .” Kat rolled her eyes again. “Akkiko, tell your boyfriend to stop being so lazy.”

 

“I'm busy—watch it!” The three, distracted for a few moments, scattered as the bear demon roared and tried to hit them with a huge paw.

 

“I think you girls can handle this,” Inu-yasha said, and closed his eyes again, looking for all the world like he was asleep.

 

“OSUWARI!!!” :CRASH:

 

Everyone stared at Kagome, eyebrows raised. “What?” she said. “At least he's down here now.”

 

Everyone blinked. “You know, she has a point.” Kat said, then leapt into the air as the bear tried to take her out again. She winced as its claws caught her leg, tearing the material. Blood began to trickle out, causing the beast to go nuts.

 

“Shit!” Akkiko said, as the demon turned its sights on her. As it charged her, she leapt up, landing gracefully on the back of its neck, and scrambled over the shaggy coat. The bear blinked its weak eyes, confused.

 

“Hiraikotsu!” Sango's weapon flew at it, clipping its shoulder. Kagome squinted; she could see a tiny sparkle beneath the fur. . .

 

“The jewel shard! It's on its left shoulder!” she called, helping Inu-yasha up.

 

“Ow. . .damn wench,” the hanyou grumbled, throwing a glare in Kagome's direction, then picking up the sheathed Tetsusaiga. “I'll get rid of it in one go.”

 

Drawing the transformed sword, Inu-yasha planted his feet as Kat distracted the bear, who tried to bat her from the air. Akkiko stabbed at its hind legs, causing it to turn, roaring once again.

 

“__!!” Streaks of light tore up the earth; one streak hit the bear demon in the middle, slicing it cleanly in half. Its death roar almost drowned out an exclamation of:

 

“Kazaana!” Miroku had just come over the hill leading down to the village; the wind tunnel emerged from his hand, devouring the pieces of the bear demon. The front half, however, was still hanging on.

 

“Hang on, Miroku,” Kagome called, bringing out her bow. She fired an arrow, which went through the bear's torso; its left paw and shoulder dug into the earth as the rest of it was sucked into Miroku's arm.

 

“Well,” Akkiko said cheerfully. “That was easy.”

 

“Kat, you're bleeding!” Sango said.

 

“It's nothing, really. Kagome? Can you get out your First Aid kit?”

 

“Of course!” As Kagome and Sango busied themselves with bandaging Kat's leg, Akkiko went over to Miroku.

 

“So where's Meg?” she asked her brother.

 

“She stayed at the village for a few minutes to calm everyone down; we should probably stay there for the night.” He glanced at the sun, which was beginning to turn orange in the late afternoon sky.

 

Inu-yasha sheathed Tetsusaiga with a sigh. He went and stomped down on the bear's leg, digging the jewel shard from its flesh. He had a bad feeling; as he listened to Miroku describe the terror the bear demon had inflicted, he looked over at the forest. Could Naraku have had something to do with the bear's attack? Or had the bear had the shard all along?

 

He took a sniff of the air; no dangerous scents, save for the bear's. And then another scent came to him. He blinked, staring at the forest with wide eyes. And then he started running across the field.

 

He didn't even notice Meg as she came up the hill; but she saw him, and seeing the battle was over, she decided to follow him.

 

---

 

Naraku cursed from where hiding place across the field. That stupid bear demon—he had approached the sleepy creature, and given it the jewel shard—yet another shard lost to the Inu-tachi.

 

Growling, Naraku stood and leapt to the ground. I will not let them interfere again, he thought. His attention was turned as he became aware of someone walking towards him.

 

“Lord Naraku,” Kameko Haru said, bowing slightly. Naraku, behind his baboon mask, blinked in surprise.

 

“Who are you?” he asked arrogantly.

 

“My name is Kameko Haru. I am a seer. . .and I have become aware of your plan.” The oracle watched the half-demon carefully. “You will not get away with what you are planning. Those girls will not let you.” She nodded in the direction of Inu-yasha and the others. “Their will is stronger than yours—all of their wills.”

 

Naraku felt a flare of anger. “Then it is you that brought them here?” he spat. “Stay out of my way, Seer. I will not hesitate to kill you where you stand.” Despite his bold words, he felt uneasy.

 

“That sounds like a challenge, Lord Naraku.” Kameko Haru smiled; her eyes, however, were very cold. “Until next we meet, then.” She turned to fade into the shadows.

 

Naraku grinned. “Fool, to turn your back,” he muttered; tentacles exploded from his pelt and snaked their way to where Kameko Haru had been standing. They grasped nothing but air. Naraku scowled. Where had—

 

His thoughts were stilled as a new scent travelled to him on the breeze. Eyes widening with surprise, Naraku turned in the direction the scent was coming from. He smiled.

 

“So, Kikyo. . .come to see your Inu-puppy again?”

 

---

 

Kikyo walked through a forest, many days from the camp where she tended to injured soldiers. She had come because her soul carriers had told her of unrest between Inu-yasha and Naraku. Naraku had been far more active for the past few weeks; she was worried. And then there was the talk of the three new companions that were said to have come from the same world as her reincarnation.

 

Kikyo kept her guard up as she walked; the air of the forest was tense as the animals all scurried to their hiding holes. She had heard that the village nearby was being plagued by a large demon. The thought almost made her smile; what village wasn't plagued by some demon or another these days?

 

As she entered a clearing, she stopped to listen. No birds called; only the sound of the wind through the leaves met her ears. And then she heard hurried footsteps; making sure her arrows were in easy reach, Kikyo waited.

 

Inu-yasha emerged from the gloom of the foliage, his eyes picking out Kikyo with little difficulty. He said her name softly as he entered the clearing.

 

“Inu-yasha,” Kikyo said, in a toneless voice. “I was hoping to see you.”

 

“Huh? You—you were?”

 

“I came to warn you. Naraku has been extremely active lately. More demons are emerging; they all have jewel shards and claim to be rallying to his cause.” Kikyo reached into her hakama and drew out three shards. She threw them on the forest floor. “I have no use for these. . . .so I will give them to you.” She met Inu-yasha's eyes. “I hope you will be careful when you next face him. Naraku is planning something, without a doubt.”

 

Inu-yasha, of course, knew all this, but the surprise of seeing Kikyo again was doing funny things to his head. He felt happy, but sad, and something nagged at the back of his mind. . .

 

As the silence dragged on, Kikyo turned and began to leave. Inu-yasha blinked and was about to call after her, but his mind landed on only one name. . .and it wasn't hers.

 

---

 

Kikyo walked down the path she had come, slightly seething. What had been wrong with Inu-yasha? He normally would have called after her, or tried to embrace her, or . . . something. Something other than just standing there. But he had looked distracted. . .by what?

 

Or by who?

 

Walking with a slight frown, Kikyo glanced up sharply as there was snap in the bushes to her left. Knocking an arrow, she shot it into the undergrowth.

 

Meg leapt out, gracefully flipping over the arrow, which disappeared into the foliage. Landing with her own arrow ready to fire, Meg stood in the middle of the path, blocking Kikyo.

 

“So, you're the undead priestess I've heard all about,” she said, an intense dislike settling into her mind. Something about the woman rubbed her fur the wrong way.

 

Kikyo raised an eyebrow. “And you are?” she said, calm and ignoring the arrow aimed for her.

 

Meg lowered the arrow slightly. “I'm just a kitsune running with Inu-yasha's group,” she said lightly. “And now that I've met you, I can think of a few things to say.”

 

“I thought the fox clan was above eavesdropping,” Kikyo said calmly, unsure of whether the fox-demon had, in fact been eavesdropping on her and Inu-yasha. The slight twitch of Meg's ear and the way her eyes narrowed confirmed it.

 

“Look, princess—” Meg stalked up to the priestess, placing her arrow back in its quiver. “First of all, you seem like a bitch, and I don't mean Inu-yasha's. Two, dead is a real turn-off, so what are you trying for? And finally, you're mackin' on the boy my best friend wants, and I just can't let you do that. So you have five seconds to leave and not come back before I kick your sorry ass.”

 

Kikyo smiled coolly at the kitsune. “As you wish,” she said mockingly, and side-stepped around Meg, continuing on her quiet way.

 

Meg bit back a growl. Freaky bitch, she thought, then turned and jumped into the trees. She leapt out of the cover when she had reached the clearing where Inu-yasha was still standing.

 

His eyes jerked up when she landed in front of him, an ugly expression on her face. “Meg. . . what are you doing—”

 

“What the hell is going through your head, you jerk-off?” Meg shouted at him. “How can you meet with your ex-girlfriend—your dead ex-girlfriend, no less—when you have a perfectly fine live one less than a kilometre away?”

 

Inu-yasha's face dropped; confusion, anger and hurt were reflected in his golden eyes. “You were. . .you listened? How dare you—”

 

“How dare I?” Meg puffed up with rage. “How dare you? Did you even think of what Akkiko would think, you traipsing off to hang with some dead chick? She really, really likes you, Inu-yasha. How could you meet Kikyo when you're going out with Akkiko?”

 

“But what if I don't want to out with her?” The foolish hanyou asked, half-joking.

 

:Two minutes later. . .:

 

“All right! All right! I'll do whatever you say! Just stop causing me bodily harm!!”

 

“What I said to Sesshomaru about Kat applies to you too—If you hurt my little sister, I will not—hesitate—to hurt—you!!” With each pause, Meg drove Inu-yasha's face a little further into the ground. Breathing hard with the effort, she continued. “And believe me, Kagome's `osuwari' will seem like a slap on the wrist compared to the pain you will feel.”

 

Stooping down to gather the jewel shards Inu-yasha hadn't yet touched, Meg glanced at him, her expression slightly softer. “Now let's get back to the others before they think we've been eaten by another bear demon.”

 

---

 

Inu-yasha felt more than slightly guilty when they returned to the others; Meg made up a story about how Inu-yasha had followed the demon bear's scent to its den and found the jewel shards. Meg herself had spotted him and tagged along. Kagome, Kat, Akkiko and the others accepted the story, and the group settled down in the modest inn that stood at the edge of the thankful village. After a hot meal, everyone was looking forward to a quiet night.

 

Kat and Akkiko had brought out their deck of cards again and were playing with Meg; Shippo and Kirara were playing by the fire while Sango and Kagome had decided to use the hot baths offered by the host. Miroku was safely dozing, and Inu-yasha was sitting just outside the door, looking at the stars.

 

“Hey!” Akkiko said. “I just thought of something!” She threw down her hand and jumped up. Kat raised an eyebrow.

 

“Akkiko? You do realize you have a full house? That's a winning hand.”

 

“Dammit!” Meg said, throwing down her two-pair.

 

“Whatever.” Akkiko stalked over and opened the door wide. Inu-yasha jumped slightly and turned.

 

“What is it?” he asked, slightly creeped-out by the glare he was getting from the other hanyou.

 

“You never taught me your attacks!”

 

“Eh? What are you talking about?”

 

“You never taught me your attacks!”

 

“Oh yeah,” Meg said. “Yesterday, while Kat was trapped in the modern era—before you ran off after Kagome, you know. . .”

 

:flashback:

 

“What happened before Inu-yasha got the Tetsusaiga?” Akkiko asked Kagome.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“You know, what attacks did he use?” Akkiko looked over where Inu-yasha had been coerced into splitting firewood.

 

“Um . . . He usually used an attack called `Iron Reader Soul Cleaver' . . . Oh! When he was fighting against Yura the first time he used an attack `Blades of Blood'.”

 

Meg winced as she saw the look in Akkiko's eyes.

 

“Sweet!” Akkiko jumped up and ran over to Inu-yasha. Grabbing his sleeve, she said, “Come on—you're going to teach me your attacks!”

 

:end:

 

“Oh. That.” Inu-yasha let loose a `feh'. “Why'd you bring this up now?”

 

“Because I completely forgot about it!” Akkiko grabbed hold of his arm. “Now come on—there is no way you're getting out of this. We can use the woods to practice.”

 

“Wait—just a—Kat, how the hell do you stop her?!” Inu-yasha called over his shoulder.

 

“She will never stop,” Kat said, the poker game now ignored since Meg was helping Miroku who had been pegged by an errant ball thrown by Shippo. “She will never stop until she thinks she's won. Have fun.” She put up a hand in mock-salute as the two hanyou disappeared into the dark forest.

 

“Think they'll be okay?” Kat asked over her shoulder.

 

“Oh, sure,” Meg said. “In fact, I think this is just what Inu-yasha needs.”

 

“Eh?” Kat turned to look at her friend quizzically.

 

“Oh, it's nothing.”

 

---

 

Unsurprisingly, at least to Meg and Kat, Akkiko and Inu-yasha didn't emerge from the forest until dawn.

 

“Nothing like an all-night training session to get the blood flowing,” Kat said philosophically, drying her face.

 

Meg raised an eyebrow as Inu-yasha nodded. “So. . .have a good time?”

 

Inu-yasha shot her a withering look. “She's nuts. . .and yet. . .she picks things up quick.”

 

Akkiko, far from being tired, was even more hyper than the time she had been jacked up on five cans of iced tea.

 

“Woot! Bring on Naraku and his creepy incarnations! I will kick their sorry asses into next century!”

 

“Better to kick them into our century,” Kat called. “Then we can kill them twice.”

 

Akkiko ran up to Miroku and began retelling how she had learned the Iron Reaver Soul Stealer attack. Suffice to say, her brother wasn't looking thrilled.

 

“We've created a monster,” Kat whispered to Meg.

 

“No; Inu-yasha's created a monster,” Meg said, calmly drying her hands.

 

“There goes the neighbourhood,” they said at the same time.

 

---

 

Post-chapter notes: Hmm. . . .y'know that `pinch of plot tossed in for good measure' I mentioned at the beginning of the chapter? I can't bloody see it.

 

I didn't really have a direction for this chapter to go, but it seems to mainly be about building on Akkiko and Inu-yasha's relationship (with a little building on Meg and Miroku's relationship ^^)

 

So let's just mark this as a `filler chapter' with some mild fluff and leave it at that—next chapter, I promise, will get back to the plot of the story. Now, if you'll excuse me, I want to go pass out from exhaustion in that corner. . .

 

Akkiko: Finish the author's note, then pass out :Stands over authoress with chainsaw:

 

:authoress sighs: I had to change a few details for this chapter. First of all, the bear demon that is threatening the village? It used to be a boar. . .Kinda like Akkoto in Princess Mononoke. . .only bigger -.-;; Also, it was originally Sango and Miroku that went off to get supplies, and Meg was swearing at Inu-yasha to get out of the tree when the bear/boar attacked, but then I thought `Where's the logic in that? I am, after all, pairing Meg with Miroku', so that entire scene was kinda mutilated from its original idea—but that's okay, cuz it all turned out okay in the end.

 

As a minor note, I don't like Kikyo's character at all. The whole `undead priestess' thing is getting kinda old, not to mention I can't handle the angst, or the way she keeps getting between Inu-yasha and Kagome in the TV series. I do accept her as sort-of needed character—but still! And, of course, I believe that whatever is dead, should stay dead. Thus, I obviously do not own Inu-yasha, cuz if I did, Kikyo wouldn't be around at all ^^ Oh, and as another minor note, Meg cannot stand Kikyo at all, in real life as well as in any fanfiction I may write—in fact, I'm pretty sure she came up with that entire Meg-bitches-Kikyo-out scene ^^;; So there you go.

 

Finally, this chapter is dedicated to the author's of two wonderfully-written stories—A-Brighter-Dawn, who writes Light in the Shadows (a Harry Potter fic), and Ladya C. Maxine, who writes Sinners (a Beyblade fic). Both of these stories are on my Favorites list, and these are awesome writers who write awesome stories, and I am forever jealous of them and their super-long chapters ^^ So here's to you, ladies!

 

And now, before my author's note get longer than the actual frickin' chapter, I will go pass out. . .

 

(Final note: Seriously, I am tired—I got the idea for this chapter in the middle of night, while my brain was half-asleep, then typed out the whole damn thing in one day—okay, so some of the scenes were already written, but still! Not to mention I totally blew off English homework to work on this T.T I sacrifice so much for you guys. . .)

 

Disclaimer: I do not own Inu-yasha, or any characters/situations/places that are affiliated with Inu-yasha. I own any OC characters (save Meg and Akkiko, who own themselves), and despite all claims, I do not own Sesshomaru, Meg does not own Miroku, and Akkiko does not own Inu-yasha. Their plushies on the other hand. . .