Adult-FanFiction.org : Inuyasha / Yashahime

Nikanaru
By : Koday
Category: InuYasha > General
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Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, nor make money from this story.
Chapter List
- 13
- 14
I went
ahead and made me some nudies� teehee.

MAX!!!
http://ic1.deviantart.com/fs11/f/2006/239/f/c/NudeMax.jpg

AL!!!!
http://ic1.deviantart.com/fs11/f/2006/239/4/0/AlNude.jpg

THE PREVIEW
PIC YOU CAN�T SEE RIGHT NOW BECAUSE SOME WEIRD IS GOING ON WITH THE D.A.!!!
http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/38801808/

�oh, and
the usual illustration for the last chapter. (Nothing explicit, besides the
language.)
http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/38786453/

Now then�

Nikanaru

Chapter 14

A Barking Dog Never Bites.

Or

Incidentally, a Baked Dog Never Bites, Either.

�What???�
Al managed once her heart settled back down into the cavity from whence it
jumped, alongside the rest of her body.

�I�ah��
Max�s good judgment suddenly came back to him in the immediate aftermath of
that sudden outburst� a mental system of judgment whose first order of business
was remind himself that he was a moron.

Dear
Maximus Higurashi. The following is a message from your retrospective self:
�YOU, SIR, ARE A FUCKING MORON.� Thank you, and good day.

Once that
was taken care of, the second item on the agenda to deliberate on the topic of
what was to be done with the sudden realization that he and Al were now some
several hundred years back in time. Or, more specifically, how to break this
news to Al.

Pending a
conclusive assessment on the situation by the subcommittee of brain cells
assigned to deliberate the issue, the president of the United States of MaxLand
issued an order that the administration�s usual policy of �stalling� be put
into action.

�I
said��puppies�.�

�No you
didn�t!� She snapped back. �You said �Fuck�!�

Damage
control! Damage control!

�Well, if
you already knew that, then why�d you ask?�

�Wh�no! I
meant �what?� as in �what� are you screaming for?!��

�Scream?� Max
faked offensiveness, hoping desperately to shift the conversation away from the
actual context of his poorly thought out vocal eruption. �Hey, I do NOT scream!
I� yell. Or shout. Maybe roar. Only girls scream�or those opera singers who had
their nuts lopped off.�

�Excuse me?
You�re still echoing out there!� Al pointed out over the horizon, where Max�s
shrill voice was still reverberating off in the distance.

��fuuuuck�uuuuck�uuck��

Goddamn,
that IS girly. I should probably start smoking and rasp up my voice some.

�Okay,
fine, so my voice still breaks� a little. Uh� well, demon puberties last longer
that human ones usually do.� Max tried, making up some complete bullshit and
hoping nobody would be the wiser.

�No they
don�t.� Unfortunately, Kikyo called him on it.

�Oh,
hello.� He dejectedly acknowledged. �You�re still here?�

�Max�� Al
uttered through a clenched jaw. �� I want to know, right now, what it
was that made you scream� yell� shout, or what the fuck ever you wanna call
what you did just now.�

Shit! Well, Al wasn�t stupid, so he
should have guessed that he couldn�t lead her astray with an insipid debate. Face
it, buddy� you just don�t have that Monty-Python-esque talent for
disorienting people with non sequitur tangents.

Ah,
hell� He dejectedly
decided. Don�t bother hiding the truth from her anymore. Just be completely
honest, but try and break it to her in such a way that likely won�t make her
panic and, y�know� kill you.

�Okay�� He
murmured, hand eloquently placed behind his head. �� well� how can I put this?�
A deep breath was taken. �I�m not sure if you can believe this� buuuut��

�After
everything that has happened to me in the last two days, I�m pretty much
willing to believe anything.� She stated.

�Well,
okay.� Clasping his hands together, Max spoke very nervously, eyes looking
away. �I�m, uh, fairly sure now that our problem isn�t so much a matter of our
location as it is� a matter of our�chronology.�

��what??�

�Lemmie
just check something here�� Max spoke, turning around. �Say, Miss Kikyo� would
you happen to know what year this is?� In response, the woman raised one
eyebrow in the ever-so-slight manner in which all of her facial expressions
were conducted.

�Is this
some manner of trick question?� She asked after a slight pause.

�No. No,
you just take the question at face value.�

�In that
case, it is the sixteenth year of Eisho.� She stated matter-of-factly. Max
cringed.

�Uh�� She
was going by dynasty era dates� something Max wasn�t terribly familiar with,
given how regularly he�d nodded off during history classes.

�Or, if you
prefer�� She continued ��Imperial year��

�1520.� Al
interrupted. Max turned to her with ever-present bewilderment. �The Eisho Era
started sometime about 1504. If it were the sixteenth year, then�� As Al
semi-absentmindedly deconstructed Kikyo�s statement, the implications of it
suddenly hit her. �Waitaminute, 1520?!�

1520.
Five hundred years. Yup, that sounds about right.

�If the
Common Era is your preferred calendar system, then yes.� The older woman
acknowledged. Al gaped at Kikyo briefly before slowly turned back to Max.

�So� what,
were you just trying to see that she IS crazy?� Her question was put with her
usual bluntness and tactlessness.

�Weeeeeeeellllllll��
Max pursed his two index fingers together while trying desperately not to look
Al right in the eyes. ��she�ah�actually�might�not�be��

*******

20 Minutes Later

Chicks
are complicated.

Max, Al and
Kikyo strode fairly casually through the outermost streets of Shahskul village.
This feudal town was about the same as Max had always imagined they�d look,
judging from all those history textbooks he�d flipped through. Old-looking
buildings, primitively, yet effectively built. A few stacks of hay and other
old-fashioned knickknacks littered the streets, along with a stray chicken or
two.

It was
still very early. There were only a few people out, so far. Having gone a few
streets down, they�d still only crossed paths with about two or four people.

This grand
occasion marked the first time Max Higurashi had brazenly walked by a complete
stranger with no illusionary crystal on. Walking around in public with his
demon form uncloaked, it felt to him like he may as well be going out in the
streets stark naked. He was understandingly very self-conscious about the whole
thing, but Kikyo had assured him beforehand that the villagers wouldn�t give
him any trouble at all.

And� as it
turned out, she�d been right. The first time they�d encountered a person,
they�d walked right by a bald, middle-aged man. He was dressed up in the robes
that people of the day would typically wear, his hair was rather disheveled and
unkempt, and he wasn�t particularly clean. Max could actually smell that he
must not have bathed in a day or two� it certainly served as evidence that
these were less convenient times than they�d come from. But, the man had
silently bowed his head as he�d passed the group, as casually as he would
anyone else. Max had given him a quick nod back before nervously continuing on.

Now, the
odd thing was, his going out sans-incognito wasn�t the most important thing on
his mind, despite it being a groundbreaking experience in his life. There were
just so very many things happening right now, and so much that was bouncing
around that head of his�

Being some
five hundred years away from home�

The fact
that he was in completely unfamiliar territory, around completely unfamiliar
people in a primitive culture which he was, amazingly enough, unfamiliar with�

What in the
name of hell he was supposed to do now�

Dreaded
pondering about what he was going to be forced to do with no working toilets in
this era�

But what
dominated his thoughts, at this moment, was Al.

Chicks
are really complicated.

She was�
calm. Not perfectly, emotionlessly calm, such as Kikyo was, but Al seemed far
more settled down than a person in her situation rightfully should be.
Especially considering what had happened not so long ago.

About
twenty minutes prior, Max had disclosed to her his realization that they had,
through circumstances he had yet to figure out, essentially traveled back
thought time. By about 500 years. So, the world, the people, the home and the
life she�d once had did not exist, and would not exist for what would be the
equivalent of about ten of her lifetimes.

How had she
taken it?

Not too
fucking well.

********

20 Minutes Ago

After being
abruptly awakened by an unusually loud �Fuck!�, the people of Shahskul were
further roused by yet another loud voice bursting from atop the hill outside of
town:

�BACK IN
TIME?! YOU SENT ME BACK IN TIME?! YOU FUCKING SENT ME BACK IN FUCKING TIME?!?!�

Holy
hell, she�s a lot stronger than she looks! The collar of Max�s coat threatened to rip
right off under Al�s vice-like grip while she vigorously shook Max, his head
bouncing around like a bobble-head figurine.

�I d-didn�t
do it on purpose!� His voice sounded a bit more turkey-like than usual as the
walls of his throat reverberated with each violent jerk.

�Oh! Well,
that just makes everything all perfect now, don�t it?!� Her voice continued
in scream, despite her face being right in front of his. It might have been
considered romantic if the circumstances were� completely and utterly
different.

�No� but
you know what would make things just at least a little bit better??� Max asked,
suggestively trying to restrain Al�s wrists and gently stopping her from
rocking him like a seesaw.

�God! I
mean� GOD! How is this kind of shit even possible?! And why�?� Her eyes
clenched shut, as though her fury was about to make them pop out. ��Why? Why
the hell did this happen to us?!�

�I�m gonna
be sounding like a broken record here if I say �I don�t know� again, huh?� Max
innocently asked. Regret immediately came upon him when her head dropped down
in despair, now holding herself up only by her grip on his collar. �Well, look
at it this way�� Max tried. ��you know that science project that was due
Thursday? Well, we�ve just gotten a really, really big extension for...�

NOT.
SMART. He
immediately realized when Al�s head shot back up, complete with a look that
suggested she was about ready to take a swing at him. Wisely, he carefully
dislodged her hands from his jacket while trying to calm her down.

�Okay,
okay, listen� I know this whole thing looks pretty shitty, but it might not be
all that bad.�

�I�not
bad?!?� She hissed out through tightly gritted teeth. �How in the hell is this
anything other than the worst Goddamned thing that has ever happened to me?!!�

�I� well,
and mind you, I�m just going by my preliminary thoughts here, but I� just might
know how we can fix this.� That managed to settle her down, as she paused to
look at him very seriously.

�How?
Didn�t you just say that you don�t even know what it was you did??�

�I did. And
I still don�t.� He continued. �But I have� heard a thing or two about time
travel that might be useful.�

�This isn�t
your pop culture bullshit again, is it?� She threatened. �You�re not expecting
a DeLorean to pop out of nowhere with Michael J. Fox offering us a lift home,
right?�

�Uh�again,
that would be incredibly cool, but no.� Max replied, quietly surprised that she
would make that kind reference. �No, like� there are a couple of things about
magic, mystic, alchemy things that I do really know. And I�m not talking this
theoretical witchcraft and fantasy wizardry shit� I mean like there are actual
proven facts about the occult and time travel� and I know some of them!�

�You do?�
She asked carefully.

��Yeah!
Kinda� sorta.� He sheepishly continued. �I�ve never actually experimented with
any of this stuff� it�s secondhand knowledge from a, uh, very reliable source.�

�Ffffffffffffffff�.�
Her lip quivered like she was about to unleash a hellstorm of profanity. Max
wisely brought his hand over her mouth.

�Just
listen, okay??� When Al took a deep breath and appeared calmer, Max lowered his
hand and continued. �See, my grandma told me these stories about this well��

********

20 Minutes Later (Again)

It took
some doing to calm Al down and convince her that he was being completely
serious about the whole �well� fable. He had to admit, it DID sound
far-fetched, but there was never a doubt in his mind that his family wouldn�t
have lied to him about it. Yet, as near-hysterical as she�d been, Al had
eventually decided that he was telling the truth� or at least the truth as far
as he knew it to be.

The weird
thing was, though, once she�d calmed down, she really calmed right down.
It was like someone had just flicked the switch on her �crazy bitch� setting.
It seemed unnatural, to say the least of suspicious, that she could go from
inconsolably distraught to reasonably tranquil in the span of a but a few
minutes.

�You know,
your dad pro�lly won�t be too happy about the stretch marks in this jacket.� He
mumbled, inspecting the collar that Al had previously held a death-grip on.

�What do I
care? He hasn�t even been born yet.� She indifferently replied.

�Point.� He
sheepishly admitted, deciding to himself that it was best not to provoke her
further� if she wasn�t about to enter another screaming frenzy, then he
certainly wasn�t about to look a gift horse in the rabid, foaming mouth.
�Anyways,� He continued, changing the subject. �� in all that excitement, I
almost forgot� we�re still hungry, aren�t we?�

�Yeah. I
guess.� Al patted her stomach thoughtfully. �I dunno� is there anywhere we
could get food around here?� She looked over at Kikyo.

�I have not
been here in years and much has changed. I�m afraid that your guess is as good
as mine.� The old woman shrugged.

�People
live here. They must eat something.� Max pointed out. �We may as well ask.�

�Ask who?�

�I dunno�
anyone.� Max said slowly. Then it dawned upon him. �Hey! Yeah, we can� I can
totally ask anyone!� The sudden excitement Max was showing made Al give him a
peculiar glance.

��What?�

�I can��
Max happily said, waving his arm across the street. ��ask anybody! I can walk
right up to these people and just talk to them!� That didn�t really help Al
understand what the hell he was acting so jubilant for.

�Um� as I
recall, you�ve done that almost everyday of your life. Why �s that excite you
now?�

�Yeah, but�
hey, look at me!� His hands waved over his body for emphasis. �I�m not wearing
any disguise or anything� I can totally interact with these people as� well,
what I really am. I don�t have to pretend to be human so nobody runs away
screaming!�

�Okay.� She
said simply, not sounding particularly impressed. �And this is some kind of big
deal for you?�

�Well�
kinda, yeah!� Max stated in wonderment. �I feel� I dunno, disguising myself as
a human was never a big problem for me, but this is still pretty liberating.
It�s sort of like I just came out of the closet, except without any of that
messy sodomy business.� Kikyo�s eye arched and Al grimaced.

�Uh� okay.�
Max looked around the surrounding streets with a new sense of zeal, scanning
them for anyone whom he could now proudly make conversation with. There were
still only a very small number of people out, though. Passing them by now was a
young boy, probably seven or ten years old, dressed up in some ragged clothes
and lugging around a large, wooden bucket of water. He made his steps
carefully, concentrating hard on his task so as not to spill any.

�S�cuse me,
lad.� Max addressed the child with exaggerated politeness. The boy�s head
snapped up with wide eyes to meet the demon�s. �You wouldn�t happen to know
where a fella could get himself something to eat around here, would you?�

Unfortunately,
the reaction was not at all what the young demon had anticipated. Rather, the
kid�s eyes grew even wider as, looking terrified, his lips and arms began
trembling. Max watched on in complete incomprehension as the kid dropped his
bucket, letting its contents carelessly soak the dirt streets, and ran off
screaming in the opposite direction.

What the
fark?

The smile
now effectively wiped off his face, Max simply stared slack-jawed off in the
direction that the boy had fled in.

�You�
frighten little children.� Al impartially observed.

�Wha�
wait.� Max turned to Kikyo in perplexion. �But� all those other guys before?�
He turned to look down the street again and then back at Kikyo. �What�s the
deal? No one else here acted like that when they saw me!�

�I believe
that child interpreted your question as a vague threat that you were going to
eat him.� Had Max been sipping on a drink right then, he would�ve comically
spewed it all over the place.

�What?!
But� why in the hell would he�?!�

�You
wouldn�t happen to know where a fella could get himself something to eat around
here, would you?�
He replayed in his mind.

�Uh� okay,
I can see how that might be misconstrued�MAYBE. But that�s still a pretty far
stretch.� Came his hesitant admission. �I mean� c�mon! The only reason he�d
thinkn that is if demons usually eat�� Another click sounded in his mind. �The
demons around here EAT people?!�

�I�ve heard
stories.� Kikyo admitted. �Though it�s more likely just a threat they use to
keep the humans in line.� Aghast, Max looked over to Al, who also now wore an
equal expression of horror.

��What the hell?? I thought you said the
people here wouldn�t be afraid of me!�

�What I
said...� Kikyo sharply corrected. ��Was that no humans here would trouble you.
I certainly did not imply that they would not fear you.�

�But� wait,
I thought�� His brow furrowed into several lines, distorting the moon-shaped
red birthmark on his forehead. �I thought demons and humans got along in this
era� or� coexisted well or something.�

�And
whatever gave you that idea?� Kikyo scoffed. �I already told you that we were
in the middle of a war.�

��A �war?�
Al reluctantly echoed, remembering the brief argument she had with Kikyo a few
hours ago. In this setting, she now had to set her pride aside and silently
admit that Kikyo had indeed never been crazy, nor deluded in any way. Even if
she had been a hermit, this was her world far more than it was Al or Max�s, and
she held a great deal more knowledge about it than either of them could. If she
claimed that there was a war going on, then they could only assume that was the
truth. And based on what had just happened, it wasn�t hard to guess what the
nature of this war was. �Between� humans and��

��demons?�
Max finished, thinking along the same lines as Al, but dreadfully hoping they
were both wrong. He�d guessed, based on the stories that his grandmother had
told him about her daughter�s ventures into the past, that demons and humans
must have been on at least some good terms with each other, considering that
her daughter had supposedly befriended several. Now that he was actually here
in the past, he�d hoped that it could at least mean that he could be a demon
and still be on good terms with humans.

Instead,
there could be a fucking war between the two going on, and he could be deep in
enemy territory.

Kikyo
nodded her head, confirming that fear.

�Oh God�
damn.� Max groaned, suddenly very eager to crawl into a dark alley.

�This town
is not considered human territory, though. It was conquered some years ago and
renamed in supposed �honor� of the petty war chief, Shahskul. A fool who�d
prided himself with subduing a village of farmers and merchants.� She continued
with some bitter edge to her voice.

�Wait� but
there�s nothing but humans here.� Al observed.

�They are
servants. There are demons here, but not very many are needed to maintain
control of this village and its residents. They use this place as an outpost
supplying goods and shelter for traveling war parties� and the humans are used
as servants who produce whatever �goods� the war parties may need.� Kikyo
stated, before eyeing Max cautiously. �You can at least smell them, can you
not?� Max blinked.

�The�
people?�

�The demon
masters.�

�Uh?� Max
stopped to re-scent the local atmosphere� certainly, he could smell the humans,
but there were a small number of things that didn�t come across as at all
familiar.

�So your
natural abilities are not THAT terrible, then?� She intoned harshly. �You can
at least tell that there are other demons here?�

Those
smells are other DEMONS??? The thought alerted in Max�s mind sharply. Holy�

�Yeah�� He
feigned. � I, uh, can tell that.�

�Good.� She
sighed, stepping back. �Then all I can advise you to do is to go speak with
them. They will likely help you find the way back to wherever it is you are
trying to get to.� With that, she gave a slight bow before turning around.

�H-Hey!�
Max halted her, arm outstretched. �You�re just� you�re just going?!�

�As of this
point, I have done everything I can for you.� Her stride unbroken, she simply
marched right through Max�s arm, pushing it aside. �The demons� the other
demons are the only ones who can help you, now.�

�I�� Max
wasn�t anything close to happy about her leaving� now that he knew that he was
in a completely different world which he knew next to nothing about, having a
sympathetic native around was a huge relief. �Could you� could you just wait�?�

�Oh�
actually,�� She stopped and turned her head over her shoulder. �Given the
severity to which you are ignorant of how things are in these parts, I would
also advise that you two not separate from each other.�

�Uh�?� Max
and Al exchanged glances. �Why?�

�If the
demons masters here see a human that they don�t recognize as one of their own,
they will likely assume either that she�s a spy, or simply a wandering stray.
Either way, they would respond in ways I would not consider pleasant.� She said
seriously. �If she stays close with you, they will simply assume that she�s
your servant and leave her be.� That said, she again turned her head back and
resumed her medium pace.

�Look,
could you� could you just hold on a sec??� Max pleaded after her. �We really��

�Speak to
the demon masters.� She repeated, not even bothering to stop or turn around.
�Their business is to deal with travelers� this is all that can be done for you
now. I wish you well.� With that last piece of council, the elderly woman
resumed her medium pace, back the way going out of town. Max glowered at her,
still wanting to stop her, yet resigned to the apparent futility of it.

�Yeah,
well� thanks.� He called after her, though it was hard to tell if he was being
sarcastic or not. After she disappeared around the corner, Al and Max simply
stood where they were, in the middle of the street.

Both were
silent� neither could think of what to do or say. Al glared around
half-liddedly, and Max suddenly seemed fascinated with the shoes he was shuffling
around in the dirt. They felt like two lost little kids who�d just been
abandoned in a shopping mall by their mother.

��Okay.�
Al finally spoke. �So� are we gonna try and find out where this, um, �well� is
supposed to be?� Max perked up and spun around.

�Right!� He
noted, index finger raised pointedly in the air. His �plan� for �fixing� this,
as far as he�d explained earlier, was to find this �Bone-Eaters-Well� that his
grandmother had told him so much about. According to everything he knew, it was
supposed to act as a gateway between the world as it was now and the world as
it would be, conveniently enough, five-hundred years in the future.

It wasn�t
much of a plan, considering that he�d once actually tried and failed to use the
well back when he was a kid� But that was really all he had to go on. And,
hopefully, if it still wasn�t working, whatever was blocking the time portal
might be on this side.

With any
kind of luck, it�s just clogged with hair or something.

Of course,
knowing his luck as it had been recently, it would probably be something worse�
some magical problem he couldn�t even fathom understanding. But, luckily, this
was the era of magic and spirituality� maybe he could find an expert or
something.

But, in any
event, they�d cross that bridge when they�d get to it. For now�

�Well, the
first thing to do would be to find out where Tokyo is� or supposed to
eventually be.� He paused, thoughtfully. �Uh� that�s��

�The Kanto
region.�

�Right,
right.� He insisted, somewhat insulted.

Christ,
I know I�m not the smartest cookie in the jar, but I know which fucking region
I live in. Another
though occurred to him. Oh, shit�

�So, uh�
was that ever renamed over the centuries?� He asked, deciding to put aside his
pride and acknowledge Al�s superior knowledge of history.

�No. Not
within the last five hundred years� span, anyway. Although the Tokyo area used
to be called Edo.�

�Awesome!�
He beamed, punching his open palm. �So, let�s see� our Shrine is on the
outskirts of Tokyo, so that�s probably nothing but forestland right now, a few
hundred kilometers away from Edo�So� alls we gots to do� is� get there.
Somehow.� Rubbing his fist into his palm in concentration, his lower lip pursed
out in thought. ��and, uh, also, figure out where the hell we are at this very
moment.�

�And where
do you suppose we start with that?�

�Well, I
guess we can start with what Little Old Lady Sunshine suggested.� He wondered,
looking around. �We can ask one of these demon dudes� wherever they are.� As he
looked around, another person, older this time, probably in his teens, about
their age, was walking by. They both eyed him, and then each other.

�I�m also
thinking�you should probably ask for directions, this time.� Came his sigh.

�Yeah� I
think I agree with you on that one.� Al concurred. Max stood back as she took a
deep breath and approached the young man. Crossing his arms and trying to
appear nonchalant from a few feet away, he observed carefully. Even if the
streets were minimally busy, he still kept himself way of anything that might
conceivably happen. When Al came within a reasonable distance of the stranger,
she loudly cleared her throat. � �Hem. Excuse me, sir?�

The �young
man� who�d been looking off into the hill as he walked by, sharply turned his
head around to meet Al, a movement similar to a hawk. Standing back from where
he was, Max saw Al visibly stiffen when she looked directly at him. Max also
noted that the guy was scowling lightly at her.

�What
business have you addressing me?� The man curtly shot at her. Frowning, Max
started to inch a little closer.

�Uh�I��
Something odd was going on. Al sounded absolutely stunned, somehow.

�Well?!�
The guy snapped angrily at her. �Are you here for no other reason than to waste
my time, girl?!�

That
does it.

�HEY!� Max
shouted as he stormed up. �Look, ass nugget, I don�t where the hell you get
off�� When the man twisted his head around to meet Max, it became his turn to
stiffen up in shock.

It was very
subtle. That�s probably why he didn�t notice it at first� but facing him, Max
could see it now. This �man� was not a man at all.

Pointed
ears� just like his own.

Eyes that
had bright green retinas, and cat-like slit irises.

And just
now� Max noticed the scent. No human bore that kind of scent.

This was
another demon.

Max stood
agape, his own demonically golden eyes wide, staring right into the feline-like
demon�s narrowed eyes. A massive swirl of thoughts came torrentially through
his mind all at once� this was another fucking DEMON! One of his kind! Of course,
being in the past now, he knew he was going to meet one soon, but to suddenly
and completely unexpectedly just meet one like this was� well, it was hard to
say.

Great,
scary, amazing, alarming, relieving, exciting� it came to him all at once, and
his mind couldn�t decide which one it was.

�Is she
yours?� The demon intoned, pointing condescendingly toward Al.

�Uwa�� Max
took a second to clear his throat and swallow all the spit that had gathered in
his mouth. �Uh� y-yes?�

�I see.�
The demon gave Max a hard look, passing his eyes over Max�s modern clothes and
deducing that he must no doubt be a traveler for far away. �I don�t know what
things are like where you�re from, Inu� but while you�re in our territory,
you�d be well advised to teach your slave to employ the proper form of respect
when speaking to her betters.� Max was only half-listening to what he was being
told, still staring saucer-eyed at the demon.

�Uh� yeah.�
He absentmindedly mumbled. �I�I�ll do that.�

�Good.� The
demon quickly. �I assume, then, that you�ll be wanting to speak with the chief.
You can find his outpost in the center this little cesspool of a hamlet.�

�Uhh�sure.�
He muttered still. � That�s� that�s great.�

�Yes�great.�
Without so much as a bow, the rude cat-like demon simply brushed past them and
continued on his way. Both the befuddled demon from the future and the teenaged
girl watched after him as he haughtily walked away.

�W�wow.� Al
said simply.

�Yeah.� Max
quietly concurred.

�Is that
the� first time you�ve��

�Uh-huh.�
He nodded. Exhaling slowly, as if he�d forgotten to breathe, he placed one hand
over his chest, noting that his heart was thundering in his chest. It was a
quick, inconsequential little encounter, but Max had been wondering his entire
life what it might be like to meet another demon�

In an odd
sort of way, it was almost like that forgotten childhood dream of one day
meeting Santa Claus. Like many children around the world, Max had always wanted
to, (along with the Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, and that �Lucky Charms�
leprechaun) but the bitterness of maturity destroyed that dream, just as living
in the human world for so long had made him complacent to the fact that he�d
never meet another one of his kind. But, all of the sudden, Santa is REAL, and
he appears before you! It�s such a shocking thing, that you don�t even notice
that �Santa� is a rude, pompous, elitist prick.

The shock
seemed to leave Al much sooner than it did Max, and she noted how Max looked
anywhere from astounded to� smitten.

�What, are
you in love or something?� She dryly commented. That managed to knock Max back
into his semi-regular state of mind.

�Well� he
certainly was devastatingly dashing and had those smoldering eyes that you
could just lose yourself in.� Came his sarcastic reply. �But he seemed to me
like a top, and I like to be in charge. It would never work out between us.�
Despite it all, Al managed a slight exhale, which was about as close to a laugh
as she ever got.

�So� middle
of town, then?�

�I guess
so. And remember�� He added coyly. �You gotta address me as �master� now,
�servant-girl�.�

�Go fuck
yourself and die.� She muttered instantly.

********

So much had
yet to be done.

She�d given
them the impression that she was leaving town and heading back to her hut in the
woods from whence they�d come. But that would not be the case. She would� she
could never go back there now. Not with the series of events she had to set in
motion. She could not leave him unsupervised and unchecked. Instead, once she
was out of their sight, she�d turned and made her way slowly across to the
other side of Shahskul. Far off from where she�d left them, and well beyond out
of earshot.

But she
could still sense him, even from the significant distance she was putting in
between herself and them. Merely being around him, with his power tingling at
her, was slowly reawakening her long dormant senses of spiritual and aural
perception. That demon absolutely radiated with the power of the Shikon� like
the shards of the jewel she�d chased after so long ago, she could feel his very
presence from miles away with her inborn powers, the same way she�d sensed him
while he was stuck in the void between time and space.

But he was
far more than any mere shard� he was very nearly the whole thing. As one of only
the two mikos of the Shikon, gifted with the ability to sense its presence, he
stood out to Kikyo�s senses like the bright sun in the morning sky. Even at
this early stage, while he was soft and na�ve in the ways of the warrior, like
a newborn pup, the power of the Shikon practically oozed from his skin. The
poor fool probably had no idea the kind of strength he could be capable of� it
was incalculable, even for someone who was as well versed in these affairs as
Kikyo.

What needed
utmost consideration, though, was that this was not at all like it had been
before. This was NOT the jewel. The power was no longer some inanimate object
that could be controlled like so much a tool. This was a living, breathing
creature. This was a person. This was a DEMON.

The energy
of the Shikon was such that it responded to the emotions, to the desires and to
the soul of those who possessed it. Even back when it had merely been a jewel,
the Shikon itself could become corrupted or purified merely by the nature of
whoever held it in their hands. As an object, as a jewel, changing the nature
within the Shikon from either light or dark was as relatively easy as switching
hands, like flipping a switch.

But the
power was incarnated as a person, now. A person with his own independent will,
emotions and thoughts that could not be so easily manipulated by others.

Not easily�
but not impossible.

Kikyo could
sense very well what state the Shikon was in, and in this boy it was�
surprisingly neutral. Neither dark, nor light. Far from corrupt, but leaning
only slightly towards purity. What was more was how incredibly calm the energy
was� normally, it should be swirling around vigorously, but despite how huge
and abundant it was in this boy, the power was passive and stilled. Obviously,
the young demon had rarely, if ever at all, used it.

That was
very strange, though. The Shikon�s powers should have responded whenever the
boy became exceptionally distraught, angry, happy, or experienced any other
form of heavy ardor. The extreme emotions he should have experienced at various
points over his life should have aroused the Shikon on several occasions, but
it felt as if it had almost never been touched at all.

Perhaps�
perhaps he had lived a sheltered life? One as free of pain and suffering as it
had been of pleasure and euphoria? It wasn�t inconceivable, considering that
she knew nothing of the other world he�d come from. And his ignorance certainly
suggested that he had lived in a place very guarded of the outside world.

If that was
the case, then he needed to be educated. She held considerable knowledge of
demons, but most of what she knew was with respect to how to more effectively
slay them. Regarding how a demon is trained and learns to take advantage of his
or her natural abilities, that she knew very little of.

Luckily,
she knew of someone that did. And convincing him to �help� should be easy
enough, with a little incentive. That matter would be taken care of later
today.

But
convincing Max to go along with it would not be so simple. The Shikon�s
energies mirrored how passive the boy was. And, based on his conversations with
the girl, he clearly had little intention of staying around. He only wanted to
find that well and go back to his �time.� If she wanted him to stay and fight,
then she needed to give him a �motive�.

Which
brought her ponderings back to that girl. Alexandria� None of the various
scenarios Kikyo had been running in her head saw the girl�s presence as being
anything but a bothersome element that would inhibit them in the long run. She
wanted her out of the equation, but knew doing so was no easy task, considering
that the demon was guarding her carefully. She had little doubt that she could
easily defeat Max at his current level of skill and kill Alexandria, but Kikyo
also needed to have the boy�s trust.

�Hey! Old
woman!�

Which was
the whole reason she was now doing precisely what she�d just advised Alexandria
not to do� wander the streets alone and unescorted. Kikyo continued walking,
feigning ignorance at the voice calling to her.

�Are you
deaf, bitch? I�m talking to you!� Still she pretended to not hear it. Sounds of
footsteps in the dirt came up from behind her, and she knew there had to be at
least four of them.

�Hey!� A
large, forceful hand came down on her shoulder, making her to stop. She bit
back her instinctive outrage the audacity some fool had to touch her person.
For now, she allowed herself to be forcibly turned in order to face those who
were accosting her.

�Are you
senile, or just stupid, woman?� Just as she was hoping for. Demons. Four local
guardsmen, probably out on a morning patrol� a bear and a lizard demon, while
the other two were of some more obscure variety. All of them were armed and
armored, and sneered at her with disgusting pompousness typical of the
arrogant. The bear, which�d held her shoulder, towered above her with his eyes
narrowed. �Did you not hear me, hag? When your betters address you, you will
show them the proper respect!�

�There is
little respect to be shown to those such as yourselves.� She coldly returned,
barely able to keep the contempt out of her voice. The bear�s eyes widened at
being spoken to in such a way before narrowing harshly and tightening his grip
on her.

�A crone
like you is probably too old and useless to even bother disciplining. Death
might be a far more sensible penalty for those words, woman!� He warned though
gritted teeth. �Who is responsible for you?!�

�None bear
responsibility for me. All of it, I carry with me.� She spoke back, careful not
to give in to the desire she had to burn his hand right off her shoulder.

�I�ll ask
again, bitch. And bear in mind that your life could depend on your answer� who
is your master?�

�I have no
master. And above all, I would never degrade myself in calling any of you by
such a lofty title.� Enraged, the bear grabbed her top robe and lifted her
several feet off the ground.

�I thought
so.� The lizard commented with a chuckle. �She�s an outsider. Quite a mouthy
one, at that.�

�Do you
suppose she�s a spy?� Another one asked.

�Hardly.�
The bear scoffed. �She�s far too stupid to be any spy.�

�What shall
we do with her then?� Even being held several feet off the ground as she was,
Kikyo gave a cold, condescending stare into the bear�s furious eyes. A
malicious grin slowly formed on the bear�s muzzle.

�She�s too
old to be laborer� and far too decrepit to make a good whore. I think I�ll just
squeeze until those insolent eyes pop out of her skull.� A round of sadistic
chuckles emerged from the trio behind him as the bear brought up his other
hand, preparing to crush her tiny head with it.

�Touch� me�
with� that� hand�� Kikyo slowly spoke, proverbial venom now dripping hideously
from her mouth. ��and you will not live long enough to regret it.�

�Keep
talking, hag.� The bear scoffed. �It will make your screams all the more
satify�� Just as his hand was about to enclose around her face, a sudden spark
was felt� like a static shock, only far more powerful. Grunting slightly in
surprise and confusion, the bear recoiled his hand. Without missing a stride,
Kikyo placed her own hand atop the one holding her up.

A sudden,
and very sharp hissing sound was heard, followed by a wail of pain from the
bear. His paw released Kikyo, and she fell back down to her feet with an odd
grace and dignity while the bear cradled his hand. The surface which Kikyo had
touched was smoking and full of singed fur.

�She�s a
miko!� The lizard cried out, as the group, suddenly alarmed, took out their
weapons.

�You would
be lucky if I were only a miko, miserable cur.� One of the two unidentified
demons lunged at her with an ax. Almost casually, Kikyo waved slightly in his
direction. From this small gesture, a burst of pink light arose from thin air
and incinerated the demon within less than a second, leaving only ashes.

�Gods� it�s
that witch from the woods!� Panicked, the remaining three tried to back away,
preparing to scream for help, but she would afford them no such opportunity.
Raising that same hand, she encased herself and the three of them in a sphere
of pure, holy energy. It was low intensity, though, meant only to cripple and
pain them, not kill. At least not yet�

Their
bodies, and even the air in their lungs now surrounded with miko energy, the
three dropped to the ground, writhing horrifically as though they�d been
trapped in the fires of hell itself. Standing above all their wretched forms
like a Goddess of death, Kikyo slowly approached the bear, who was in too much
agony to even reach his sword.

�P-P-please!!�
In a most pathetic display, the bear met her with pleading eyes, begging over
the muffled screams of his two remaining comrades. �M-Mercy!!�

�Mercy?�
She intoned darkly. �You will find I am quite lacking in that. Especially for
cowards such as yourselves.�

�For-Forgive
me! I didn�t� I didn�t�AAARRGGHHH!!!� Oh, how it took every bit of Kikyo�s self
control not to just purify these three brutes into nothingness. But resist the
urge she did, as these three brutes happened to be what she needed at this
time.

�Forgiveness,
I am even less inclined to.� She threatened, making sure these creatures would
think that their meaningless lives were about to end. But at the last moment,
she relented, decreasing the intensity of her bubble. �But it is as you
suggested, demon� killing someone is the only reasonable course of action when
presented with a life that is of no use to you. So the question you must now
ask yourself, demon� is whether you could be of any use to me.�

�I�� The
bear hissed with what little remained of his breath. ��I will�I�ll do whatever
you bid! Just� please�don�t�!� Seeing that he was completely out of air, Kikyo
dissipated the field, and like drowning men coming up for air, the three demons
lay on the ground, gasping for oxygen. Kikyo stood above them, staring down at
them with all the contempt they deserved.

�You will
do as I command, then?� She verified. Looking at her fearfully, the bear
briefly appeared as though he was considering grabbing his weapon and making a
quick move, but thought better of it.

�Y-yes.�
The bear bowed his head, and the other two followed suit. �We� we shall
withdraw our forces from this place at once! It� may take some time to convince
our Lord��

�No.� She
sharply cut him off. �You will stay in this village. And you will tell no one,
least of all your Lord, of this incident.�

�I� what?�
The bear responded in confusion. �But� but are you not with the human army�?�

�Stupid
creature. Do not presume to understand my allegiances.� She hissed at him. �The
task that I require of ones such as you is fittingly simple.� That was both
true and false� it was an uncomplicated task� one which she imagined that these
fools would actually enjoy� for what little remained of their lives.

�Y-yes,
mistress! Forgive us!
What would you have us do??� The groveling bear bowed his head down even
further. Satisfied with the submission she was being shown, Kikyo laid out
their undertaking.

�In this
town, an Inu demon recently arrived. As well as a human girl accompanying him��

*********

A/N: Waaaaahhaaaahhh!~!

Seriously�
come over to my place and throw things at me. Shove my face down the toilet and
bang the seat against my head. Hold me at gunpoint over the keyboard and give
me the occasional pistol whipping. I�m starting to think that�s the only
surefire way of making sure chapters will get out in a timely fashion.

But I�m
tryin�! Oh, lordy, I�m tryin�!

Oh, and I
did some research, but none of it extensive (i.e. wikipedia) on the history of
Tokyo. If I got something factually wrong here, then� sorry. One way in which I
relate to Max is in having paid very little attention in my history classes.
(Not that it made much difference, anyways. Public schools don�t exactly study
Japanese history in Quebec.)

Well, stay
healthy, all!

Koday
- 13
- 14
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Nikanaru	By : Koday Category: InuYasha > General Views: 3209 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, nor make money from this story.

Nikanaru