InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Final Battle ❯ A Very Good Place To Start ( Chapter 17 )

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

DISCLAIMER: Disclaimer this.


RECAP: Like clockwork, Inu-Yasha’s claws retracted, his senses dulling from the changes. Silvery white tresses slipped into an inky black, as his ears slipped down to frame the sides of his face. Golden eyes dimmed to a deep violet, and fangs were flattened.


“Inu...Yasha? Is that you?”




Chapter 17



Inu-Yasha stood there in the center of the room, his face downcast, black hair swirling gently in the breeze of night. Kagome stood up, and went to his side, holding a bloodstained sleeve comfortingly.


Ron, Harry, and Hermione all had their mouths hanging open, as they stared at the changed demon before them.


“Inu-Yasha?” Hermione asked. “What...why are you...”


“...human?” Harry finished for her, taking his glasses off and cleaning them with his sleeve.


Inu-Yasha growled (although, it had a little less of an effect with his newly acquired human features) in frustration. “God, does everyone have to know about this night?”


Kagome sighed, patting Inu-Yasha gently. “Well, they were bound to find out sooner or later. And look on the bright side! At least it’s not Malfoy!”


“Keh,” Inu-Yasha spat, bending his knees to crouch on the ground. “Like I’d ever be afraid of that jerk-off. Human or not, I can still kick his ass.” He sniffed, putting his hands in his sleeves.


Kagome smiled, looking at the others. “You see, Inu-Yasha’s a hanyou, so, every month, on the night of the new moon, he transforms into this–his human form.”


Hermione nodded with an “Ahhh...”, having seemed to completely understand. Ron and Harry, not so much.


“So, wait...y’mean, he’s half demon, but he only turns human once a month?” Harry scratched his head. “Does that mean he turns full demon on the full moon?”


“Blimey! He is like a werewolf!” Ron exclaimed incredulously.


“You call me a wolf one more time...!” Inu-Yasha shook his fist, making to get up.


“No, no, no...” Kagome put a hand on his lap to prevent him from rising. “It’s not really like that. Inu-Yasha can turn full-demon, but that’s only on...certain occasions.”


“Like when his life is in critical condition, and his Tetsusaiga is not in reach.” Sango interjected, she and her family looking on in mild interest.


“And it is not exactly a sight one would feel inclined to watch.” Miroku added, a slight twitch shivering on his temple.


“Would you guys stop talking about me like I wasn’t here?!” Inu-Yasha pouted, sourly looking at the wall.


“So, Inu-Yasha, what’s it like? The change, I mean?” Hermione asked, her round, expressive eyes shimmering with deep interest.


Inu-Yasha looked at her, and shrugged thoughtfully. “Dunno...you can’t really describe it to someone who hasn’t gone through it. Not entirely, at least.” He scratched his humanoid ear, and shifted into a kneeling position. “I guess it’s like...going deaf, and you get a headache, because now you got these annoying flappy ears squished to the sides of your face...your nose gets stuffy ‘cos you can’t smell nothin’.” He wrinkled his nose, and looked at his hands. “My hands always feel too relaxed. The claws make ‘em, I dunno...more alert, somehow. They’re like an extension of your fingers. No fangs, and my body feels too soft–HEY!”


“Mmm...indeed, he’s right. His body is much softer.” Shinamichi said, contentedly groping Inu-Yasha’s behind.


“So, you don’t feel your hair or eyes change?” Ron asked curiously.


“No...not really...” Inu-Yasha said, watching from the safety behind Kagome’s back as Sango liberally distributed several raps on Shinamichi’s wandering knuckles. “I always forget about my eyes. It’s not as if Dogs have great vision to begin with.”


“Why didn’t you tell us?” Harry asked suddenly. All eyes in the room went to him.


“What–did you think you couldn’t trust us? Why are we just now finding this out? How come you had to leave every New Moon?” Harry’s voice retained a note of bitterness.


Inu-Yasha rolled his eyes. “Keh. What’s it to you? In case you haven’t figured it out, I trust very few people.” He looked away, muttering something about “humans” and “stupid obsessions with trust.”


“It’s not that he doesn’t trust you, Harry...” Kagome began, thoughtfully looking at Inu-Yasha. “I didn’t even find out until the 5th tankouban.”


“The time where a half-youkai loses the magic in his blood is his most dangerous and vulnerable time. Such that, he guards that time with his life, and discloses it to as few people as possible.” Miroku said, wisely nodding his head.


“I guess it’s a good thing I’m here to protect you, then!”


Everyone turned their heads to a sudden apparition in the doorway.


“What the...?!”


Kagome gasped. In the doorway of the dojo, a figure stood–dressed in red, silver hair fanning about a masculine face, topped with triangular ears...in short, a perfect doppleganger of the hanyou Inu-Yasha.


Inu-Yasha glanced in shock, as his apparent twin cockily smirked from his position leaning against the post. “Wha–?! Who the hell are you?! Why do you look like me?!”


The other Inu-Yasha cackled. “Awww, come on, you guys! You sure you don’t remember me? Especially you, Kagome?” And then they noticed something; in place of the fiery golden eyes Inu-Yasha uniquely possessed, bright orbs of light turquoise glittered in excitement.


The familiar-looking stranger sauntered in, and made his way to Kagome before anyone could stop him.


“Hey, just wait a min–!” Inu-Yasha started, but halted at the sight of a pertly flouncing tail planted in his twin’s rear...


Suddenly, the impersonator disappeared with a loud “poof!”


Kagome found her chest and torso being glomped onto by a mass of orange fluff, tiny hands kneading themselves into the white cotton of her blouse.


“Kagomeee!”


She gasped, instantly wrapping her arms around the squirming ball of energy. “Shippou-chan!” Crying out happily, she clutched the child kitsune ever tighter in her arms, laughing with tears running down her face.


Inu-Yasha visibly relaxed, allowing a small smile to creep across his lips. “Some dramatic entrance you got there, runt...”


Shippou grunted in response. “It’s better than you guys! I didn’t know if you were ever coming back!” He whined, his voice muffled by Kagome’s chest. Eventually, she released him, giving the group a good look at the tiny fox-demon.


“I missed you so much, Kagome!” He said, sniffling a little.


Kagome smiled, her eyes glassy and warm. “I missed you too, Shippou. I thought about you all the time.”


“Really?” He said, eyes glowing. Then, proudly, he puffed his chest out. “I knew you did. Betcha thought of me more than you did Inu-Yasha and your exams altogether! Where did you go? What have you been doing? Did you bring me anything?”


Kagome chuckled, ruffling the kit’s rust-colored hair. “Not now, Shippou. I didn’t even expect to be coming back here so soon.”


Shippou hung his head in disappointment. “Oh!” His head shot up, as he ruffled through his pouch for something. He moved towards Shinamichi. “Here’re those herbs you wanted, Mi-chan.” He said, handing her a small round of plants.


She nodded her head congenially, dishing out a small stick of honey and handing it to the demon-child, who popped it into his mouth.


Sango cleared her throat. “A few months ago, right when the demons began to arrive, Shippou came bounding in through the door, as energetic as ever. We recognized him immediately, but it took him a good few seconds to understand the weight of time that had passed after looking at us.”


Shippou nodded. “Yeah...Sango told me that I had been in my fox state for fifty years!” He said, eyes wide. Then, he lowered his voice, as if telling a secret. “And, can you believe she actually went and made babies with that pervert?”


Ron laughed, instantly taking a liking to the little kit, who in turn looked at the newer arrivals. “Say, Kagome? Who’re these funny-looking humans you’re hanging out with?”


“Oh, I’m sorry Shippou.” She motioned to Harry, Ron, and Hermione (and the ever-vegetative Ginny) with an apologetic wave of her hand. “These are my friends from school–from the future. They’re wizards and witches.” Kagome sipped her tea, wetting her parched throat before looking up at the rest of the current dojo residents.


“Perhaps I better start at the beginning...”




_______________________________ ______________________________________________




R 20;Hey, John! You alright?!” A voice called out from above the rubble. Mr. A squinted his eyes, only to find himself still blinded.


He groaned, dusting the ash and plaster away from his face, rubbing his eyes clean of the soot and dirt until he could once more see clearly.


“I’ll tell you in a minute...” He bent his legs, wiggling his feet out from beneath a fallen cinder block. “Ow!” He said sharply, white-hot pain shooting through his left knee. “That’s gonna take a while to heal.”


He shuffled and grimaced, determined to regain his balance and sit up. He could still feel his legs, which was a good sign. He had a deep gash running down the length of his arm, and several thick pieces of jagged glass were sticking out of the abrasion. He examined it, and knew that the glass had to be removed before the skin had a chance to harden.


Hissing painfully, he began to slowly pick the pieces from his wound.


After the last big piece was ripped out from the fast-scarring flesh, Mr. A looked around him for his wand. Luckily, in the blast he had instinctively clutched it to his chest, where it lay flatly protected against him. (Also luckily, nothing in his fall had jerked his arm, otherwise he would be breathing through a fresh hole in his neck.)


Tearing a piece of his already ruined shirt off, he flicked the wand and transfigured it into a long strip of sterile gauze. He took part of it in his teeth, and began wrapping his arm snugly, blood seeping through each pristine layer of cotton.


Finished, he folded the tail into the wrapping. “Yeah, I’ll survive!” He called, waving his good hand around. “Now to get up...”


Mr. A flinched as he leaned against a broken column, and looked around, surveying the damage done to the abandoned street. He whistled. “Geeeez. This is gonna take one helluva clean-up crew.”


Erzebeth’s Eden was completely leveled, along with its neighboring and diagonal shops. The ones surrounding them would have been better off decimated, for now, they were bare skeletons of precariously dangling metal scraps and fast-falling bits of plaster and brick. The trees were burning, the crackling smoke drifting high in the sky–grey, formidable wraiths soaring like macabre angels above mass destruction.


The portal itself was a shimmering, unnatural vortex in the only part of the wall left standing. All activity that had just moments ago sprung forth had ceased, leaving a trail of charred youkai remains in its wake.


Mr. A glanced around in appraisal of the remaining aurors. Two were dead, eight badly injured. The other nine and himself had managed to sustain only minor injuries; a busted kneecap and a bloody shoulder were nothing next to legs broken in half, and arms missing from the elbow down.


He limped over to one of the aurors. “Hey, Marie,” He said to a brown-haired witch, who was busy summoning stretchers for the seriously injured, a large bandage covering her right eye.


“You look wonderful.” She muttered raspily, flickering her gaze to him briefly before settling another auror in place. “Not so for the others.”


“What happened to all our back-up?” A sooty wizard croaked, rising from the rubble and limping slightly.


“Corrigan demanded most of them be at the ministry, in case You-Know-Who decided to use this opportunity to launch an attack at Dumbledore.” A witch announced, her arm hanging out at an odd angle, and her obsidian cornrows fanning out messily from her head. “The ambulance should arrive here at any moment. They’re scanning the area for the possibility of any remaining youkai.”


“Well, I don’t think they’re gonna have to worry too much about that. Inu-Yasha looked like he did a decent job of wiping those screwheads out.” Mr. A cast a somber glance in the direction of two forms covered in a crisp white sheet on the ground. He grimaced. “Holy Mother...”


“Katharine was taken down early. She didn’t even know what hit her–the demon threw her with such force, her head was completely bludgeoned.” Marie’s steely expression remained in place. “Roger was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”


“We all were.” He sighed, looking around. “And speaking of which, where’d the kids get to in the midst of the blast?”


The witch with cornrows grasped her arm painfully, hissing out a breath slowly. “ I don’t know. I was out for the blast–I didn’t see much of anything.”


“I don’t think any of us did, Nadia.” Mr. A grunted, gingerly making his way to the portal. Seeing something shine slightly, he gingerly bent over, stiffly leaning on his better knee. Picking up the glinting object, he grunted.


“Well, I’ll be damned...” He said, running his fingers over the broken plastic frames of Harry’s glasses. “They’ve gone through to the past.”


Nadia raised her eyebrows, overhearing his soft muttering. “You mean Harry and the others? Through the portal?”


“Well, that’s just perfect! Spectacular news...they’re going to get themselves killed before they’re even born? What’s that going to do the present?!” The sooty wizard sourly ejected, flecks of dark black spittle dotting his chin.


“Now, now...there’s no use crying about the past.” Mr. A paused briefly, resisting the urge to morbidly snicker at the literalness of his words. “Besides. They’ve got experience on their side–that little slip of a girl might seem like nothing, but when she’s next to her little retriever, they can pack quite a healthy punch, as we’ve just seen.”


“And don’t forget about Harry,” Marie interjected softly. “He’s our only hope in this era. Some might say he’s survived everything through the grace of good fortune, but all the luck in the world couldn’t have helped him through what he’s faced without having any talent to back it up.” She sighed, lifting the last of the seriously injured onto a waiting stretcher. “When it comes down to it, he’ll be alright. And he’ll do his best to ensure the safety of the others as well. I’ve been an auror for twenty-seven years, and I can count the amount of close friends I’d trust with my life on one hand. I’ve only ever met Harry briefly, but I’d trust him just as much as those to do what’s right.”


Mr. A nodded. “That boy’s got a surplus of power he ain’t even begin to touch yet. But when the moment is right, he’ll let loose. I got a feeling he’s going to be the one to save us all.” He said distantly. “After all, he is the main character.”


“Hey, the ambulance just arrived!” A soft hum sounded the arrival of a great, white, flying truck, glittering with a triad of florescent lights. “Over here!”


Mr. A sighed, following as the remaining aurors were hastily shoveled into the large vehicle. Turning back, he cast one last glance at the portal.


“Harry, Inu-Yasha, Kagome...don’t screw up.”




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Hm ...I hope I know where this is going. LoL! Thank you for reading! :D