FicWad

A/N: I apologize in advance for the formatting. I can't seem to get Ficwad to cooperate. (See FFnet or MMorg for cleaner versions.)

Disclaimer: Inuyasha and associated characters are the property of Rumiko Takahashi.

Chapter 18

The door opened suddenly,and Shippou couldn’t suppress a yelp as he fell forward— he was still sore, and the floor was hard. But the scents that greeted him shocked him into breathless silence. Kagome. “Shippou-chan?” he heard her whisper. “How can you be here?” He looked up at her, astonished, and it was her, Kagome, her eyes huge in amazement as she gazed down at him. And there was Inuyasha, staring down at him like a big dumb ox, Tessaiga dangling from his hand. Above them was a cold, starry sky; the manor was demolished, and there was no sign of Soen or the monks. A young guy stood to one side gawking, a kitsune— definitely not Soen, his scent was unfamiliar— but Shippou barely spared him a glance.

“Kagome? Inuyasha!” He was scooped up and hugged hard by Kagome, who was crying. He couldn’t prevent the tears that pricked his own eyes, but at this point he didn’t care. It was a miracle that they were here, seemingly in answer to his wish, and he clung to her in relief and joy.

“What—” Kagome pulled back to get a good look at him. “Shippou, how— you’re hurt! What happened to you?” He was startled to see that she was cut and bruised herself, her clothes disheveled. Inuyasha also smelled of blood; unbelievably, he had a smile on his face as he stared at the two of them. The smile vanished when he saw Shippou looking, and turned away with a grunt, sheathing Tessaiga.

“Good to see you again, runt,” he said over his shoulder, his voice a little rougher than usual. “See?” he told the other kitsune, who blinked bemusedly. “Nothing popped out that we couldn’t handle.”

“Wait, is this the one you were looking for at the shrine?” the kitsune asked. He glanced from Inuyasha to Shippou. “I thought you said…” He trailed off, staring in speculation.

“About time you guys got here,” Shippou said, scrubbing at his face. They’d better get down to business, there might not be much time. “Wait till Miroku and Sango see you—or are they here already? Listen, there’s big trouble. There’s this nutty kitsune who’s out to kill a bunch of people, we’ve got to stop her.”

He looked up to see that their faces had abruptly clouded over. “What?” Suddenly their wounded condition made sense—having seen her in action, she might be able to give even Kagome and Inuyasha trouble. “Did you run into her?” Or did somebody else? Fearfully, he asked,“Are Miroku and Sango okay? Where are they?”

“Shippou-chan,”Kagome began, and then glanced at Inuyasha, who frowned back at her.“They’re not here. Let’s go sit down. We have to talk.” She started in the direction of the back of the house, and then hesitated. “I don’t know if I should let them see Shippou,” she said to Inuyasha and the stranger, who nodded.

“Too many explanations,” the other kitsune agreed. “I’ll see if I can get them moved somewhere. They’re not gonna want to stay here, that’s for sure. I’ll be back.” He jumped nimbly over some debris and was gone, and Shippou heard him talking to someone back there.

Kagome was standing indecisively, still holding him. “Who’s over there, Kagome?”Shippou whispered loudly.

She smiled down at him.“Some people you don’t know,” she murmured. “And it’s probably best that a couple of them don’t see another kitsune tonight.”

“And they won’t,”Inuyasha said briskly, moving in front of them. “Get on. No sense in standing around in this mess, can’t see a thing in here.” They got on his back, and quickly he leaped with them to the top of one of the roof’s support posts, somehow still standing upright; he balanced delicately for a moment, glanced over at the humans below, and then sprang silently to a tree on the edge of the clearing. Inuyasha did not let them off on the branch he stood on, but watched and waited. From their vantage, Shippou could see three humans, an old man and two women, being shepherded by the young kitsune around the edge of the ruin towards the front. Past the mound of debris, he saw what was left of the courtyard, and beyond it, the slope of the mountain, and strangely bright lights in the valley below. Even before considering that, Shippou was struck by an inconsistency.

The wall was gone; so was the gate. That could be easily explained, but the bailey, from what he was able to see in the dim light, appeared to be overgrown with weeds and small scrub. He rubbed his eyes. Was it an illusion of some kind? Or was this the reality, and the manor’s earlier appearance the illusion?

Shippou suddenly felt very tired. He was warm, held between Kagome and Inuyasha as he was; and he felt safe, as he hadn’t felt in weeks. He was surrounded by the comforting mixed scent of the two of them, and his eyes drooped. He could relax, let them take the lead.

He had nearly dozed off and was caught by surprise when Inuyasha suddenly moved, and he hastily grabbed for a better hold. Jumping from the tree, down to the ground at the back of the house, Inuyasha set them both down near the remains of the back porch, and stripped off his haori.

“Here, Kagome. It’s cold,” he said brusquely, draping it closely around her shoulders. Kagome smiled gratefully at him, and for a moment the two of them only seemed aware of each other. Shippou cocked his head. Did his hands linger on her arms just a little longer than normal? Did she lean a little into the gesture? He grinned inwardly. Things must have been happening over there.

“Where do you think Yasei’s taking them?” Kagome asked. She sat down on a stone step, and gestured to Shippou to jump up on her lap. She puffed a laugh when he did so. “Shippou-chan, you’ve gotten so heavy!” She put her arms around him when he settled, and he leaned back against her with a happy sigh.

“Dunno. Down to the village?” Inuyasha shrugged. He was staring off into the trees, frowning. “We should get out of here too, Kagome,” he said pointedly, turning back to her. “We don’t have to wait for them.”

She frowned too. “To go chase after that youkai?”

“No, to get you home. And the runt too.” Inuyasha looked a little edgy. “Don’t tell me you want to hang around here.”

“I wanted to make sure Michiko and her mother are all right, and that Inbe-ojiisan and Yasei have their own way back to Tokyo before we go.” and looked back up at Inuyasha. “Can we wait a little, and see what they’re going to do?”

“Fine, wench. Let’s stay here all fucking night,” the hanyou griped. “I’ll get afire going so you don’t freeze to death.” He stalked off, muttering under his breath.

“Who were those people, Kagome?” Shippou asked, tipping his face up to look at her.

She stroked his hair absently, her fingers stopping to pick at strands still caked with blood

and dirt. “The old man is Inbe-ojiisan, a priest. He came here to help us. The girl is Michiko, the older lady is her mother Shibutoi-san.”

“Help with what?”Shippou peered at her. “And what about the other guy? Who’s he?”He narrowed his eyes. “Where are Miroku and Sango?”

“We told you. They’re not here.” Inuyasha appeared with an armload of firewood that he set down near them, and a smoldering piece of wood from somewhere in the wreckage. He set about building a fire, avoiding Shippou’s eye.“They’re—”

“Er, Shippou-chan,”Kagome flapped her hand in some sort of quelling gesture at Inuyasha.“Let’s hear your story first,” she said firmly, quashing his incipient protest and questions. “How did you end up /here/?”

“And what’s the deal with that crazy bitch who was stuck in there with you?”Inuyasha grumbled. “You manage to find the most fucked up females, runt.”

“That’s not true!”he said hotly. “Most of them are normal!”

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. “Like this one?”

Shippou deflated.“Well, this time, I guess I wasn’t such a good judge of character. She fooled me good.” Resigned, he told them of meeting her in the woods, thinking that she was an orphan, just like him. Of spending time with her, gaining her trust, or so he thought. Her story and how she eventually asked him to help her avenge her family.

“Up until we came up here, I thought she was okay, Kagome,” Shippou said sadly. “But then she saw the people here and went nuts. Hit me too when I tried to stop her, and knocked me out.”

“How did you end up in the wall?” Inuyasha asked, glowering at him.

“After I woke up, Isaw that she—she had killed everybody in the house,” he said, looking down, “and I thought maybe I could see where she was going next, to warn them. She wanted to wipe out a whole clan, and everybody connected to them, like even the Emperor!” He drew abreath. “So I found her in the house, and it was like she was back to normal, but not. And then that Ungai showed up. Remember him?”

“The monk?” Kagome said, frowning in remembrance.

“Yeah. I don’t know what he was doing around here, but he came up from the village. He and those other monks that travel with him surrounded the house, and I couldn’t get out. She shoved me in that little closet and closed me in, to protect me I think, and something happened outside of it—I heard her yell, and I got knocked out. Next thing I know the door opened and you were out there.” He looked up at Kagome, his throat closing. “I thought I would never see you two again.” Kagome murmured something low and comforting and hugged him close. He sighed in contentment. “But now you’re back, and everything’s going to be okay,” he mumbled.

He felt Kagome stiffen slightly, and he pulled back to look up at her. She seemed upset, and he saw her look again at Inuyasha, who was poking at the fire, stony-faced. “Kagome, what’s going on?” he demanded, gripping her arms and giving them a little shake. “Tell me!”

“Shippou-chan.”Kagome gathered herself, stroking his hair again. “The well is still broken. We haven’t gone back.”

He digested that for a moment. “Huh?”

“You were sealed,”Inuyasha said, shortly. Now he turned, and looked Shippou in the eye.“Like me. But instead of fifty years, it’s been about five hundred for you.”

“Sealed? For five hundred years?” It didn’t make any sense. He’d just been knocked out for a little while. Sure, the manor had collapsed while he was out cold, but Inuyasha could have done that instantly, easily. But where were the monks? The bodies? Where was that pervasive smell of blood that had hung over everything? It smelled old here, old and dry and overgrown. And there were odd, acrid scents on the wind.

“Where are we, then?”he whispered.

“It’s not so much a /where/, Shippou-chan,” Kagome said. “It’s a /when./”

His face must have reflected his bewilderment. “You’re on Kagome’s side of the well, runt. Miroku and Sango are on the other side.” Inuyasha looked away again.

That made more sense, but still he struggled to understand. “You mean, I’m in your land now, Kagome?” Despite his confusion, he was charmed by the idea, and grinned.

“You could say that,”she smiled, but it seemed a little forced. She shivered, and leaned closer to the fire. “We’re far away from my house, though. It’s a bit different at home.”

“Oh.” Maybe that would explain why it was so…so much the same, here. He’d expected Kagome’s home to be much more exotic. “But Inuyasha could cover it pretty quick?” He looked over at the hanyou.

Inuyasha snorted. “Damn straight.” He moodily poked the fire again, prodding it into blazing up higher. “So, runt. What else do you know about this bitch? Where’s she likely to run off to?”

“She had a den in the woods, between here and the village,” Shippou said doubtfully. “But I don’t know if it’s the same in Kagome’s land.”

Kagome glanced at Inuyasha. “Most of that forest is gone. It would be hard to find any landmarks.”

“So who cares about landmarks?” Inuyasha grunted. “I can follow a scent trail, if it doesn’t get too cold.” He flicked her an exasperated glance.

“We’ll see what Yasei says when he gets back,” she said calmly. “Shippou-chan, you said she wanted to wipe out a whole clan. Do you know which one?”

“Minamoto,” he replied, and saw her eyebrows lift in surprise. “There’s some papers in that closet thing. Let me go get ’em.” He jumped down off her lap and scrambled over and through the wreckage, until he got to the wall, and the domain, still standing open. The papers were scattered across the floor of the small space, and he noticed as he gathered them that some were now brittle; pieces flaked off as he touched them. He carried them carefully back to the porch, and sat down next to Kagome. She picked up a couple of the papers and scanned them in the light of the fire. Inuyasha picked up a scroll and did the same.

Kagome peered at the paper. “This is somebody’s genealogy…they claim to be related to the Ashikaga, and through them to the Minamoto.”

“Same here,” said Inuyasha.

“Trouble is,”Kagome said, putting the sheets down, “I don’t think there is a Minamoto clan any more. I’m sure there are descendants, but she’s not going to find them all gathered together in a Kyoto stronghold or anything.” Her lips twisted in a wry grin. “She might have some trouble finding a lot of things, since she was sealed all that time too, Shippou-chan.”

“But is there still an Emperor?” Shippou asked. “She might go after /him/.”

Kagome looked over at Inuyasha. “What if she does? He’s in Tokyo.”

“So?” Inuyasha flipped the scroll he was holding to the porch, and sat on the ground by the fire. “He’s got guards and shit, don’t he?”

Kagome bit her lip, looking worried. “I don’t know if his guards would be able to take on that youkai. She seemed really strong. What was her name, Shippou?”

“Soen,” he supplied.

She shook her head.“Never heard of her.”

“Me neither,” said Inuyasha. “She’s probably just some trash,” he said dismissively.

“I think,” said adry voice, coming from around the corner of the ruins, “that if anine-tailed kitsune is stalking the Emperor, we ought to be concerned.” The old man limped into view, using a stick for support. There was no sign of the other kitsune.

Nine tails? he wondered. Soen hadn’t had that many…had she?

The man stared intently at Shippou as he approached, eyes narrowed, and Shippou stared back uncertainly, clinging to Kagome’s sleeve. His late experience with the monks had reminded him that caution was sometimes called for with the priestly types.

Then the old man smiled, his face gentling, as he stopped a few feet away.“You are just a little one, aren’t you?” Kagome smiled up at the priest without reservation, and Inuyasha barely spared him a glance. Shippou relaxed.

“Inbe-ojiisan, this is our friend Shippou. The one we came to the shrine asking about.”She glanced over at Shippou. “We didn’t know what happened after the well closed, so we asked at the Inari shrine, where there are alot of kitsune, hoping one of them might have known about you. Inbe-ojiisan is the priest there.”

“I am pleased to meet you, Shippou,” the old man said. Kagome got up from the stone step.

“Please take this seat, Inbe-ojiisan,” she said, waving him to the stepping stone. She sat next to Inuyasha on the ground by the fire. Inbe made a token protest, but Kagome had snuggled into Inuyasha’s side for warmth and was clearly comfortable, and Inuyasha made no complaints, so the priest let himself be persuaded.

The old man took the seat next to Shippou with a relieved sigh. Shippou noted that his robes smelled like sweat and smoke, but underlying that were trace scents of many foxes. It was somehow comforting. “So, I take it that this is quite some distance from your usual haunts, Kagome. How is it that your young friend came to be here?” He smiled at Shippou.

“It looks like he was hanging out with some bad company.” She looked a little sad, and he suddenly felt guilty. Why had he run off like that?

“Yeah, you hit the jackpot this time, runt,” Inuyasha needled. Shippou’s guilt vanished at the gibe, and he bristled. If that big jerk hadn’t disappeared with Kagome, he probably wouldn’t even have wandered off to meet Soen. Shippou might have taken umbrage at the comment, but the sight of Inuyasha, sitting there with his arm around Kagome, made him grin, his ire melting away. Wish Miroku was here to see this, he thought. It took him years, but the moron must have finally made a move! The pervert would be so proud!

“What the hell are you laughing at?” Inuyasha glared at him, eyes narrowed.

“Nothing,” he chortled.

“Inuyasha, Shippou, anine-tailed kitsune is nothing to laugh about,” Inbe said, missing the byplay. “For example, I’m sure you must have heard the legends of Tamamo no Mae. She left a trail of thousands of deaths behind her before she was destroyed.”

“Thousands?” Kagome said blankly.

Inbe nodded.“Nine-tails are very old and very powerful, and usually very intelligent to reach that level of power.” He sighed. “Yasei will contact the shrine for help. He took the ladies down the hill to the village, where hopefully one of Michiko’s friends will put them up for the night. They should be down there by now.”

“That hill looked pretty steep,” said Inuyasha dubiously. “You sure those women can make it down a hillside in the dark without landing on their heads?”

“They started out well, and Yasei will do what he can to assist. Shibutoi-san was very, er, insistent about going,” Inbe smiled. “He said he will phone the shrine from there, since his cell isn’t working here in the mountains.” Kagome nodded, seeming to understand the last sentence; it made no sense to Shippou. “Time is of the essence,” he continued. “We need as much help as we can get to stop this creature before she does more damage.”

“Shippou-chan,”Kagome said, “can you tell Inbe-ojiisan what you just told us, about this kitsune?”

Shippou obligingly repeated his tale. Kagome picked up where he left off, and told what happened when they went into the house and Soen had become unsealed; Inuyasha finished with some terse comments about what happened after Kagome had gotten the girl out. Shippou was sure there was more to it than what the hanyou said, from his tension and the way he held Kagome closer as he spoke. Inbe was an attentive listener, and shook his head at the end of the recitation.

“It’s a pity, that one so old could have been so damaged. Her rage has surely transformed her into an oni, a truly evil demon.”

Inuyasha’s ear flicked. “It’s a pity that the bitch ain’t dead yet. Hey, punk!” he roared over his shoulder. “What did you find out?”

On cue, the other kitsune trotted around the corner. “Who are you calling a punk?” he snorted. He had some paper cups and a large thermos, familiar to Shippou from the one Kagome used to bring through the well. “I brought some tea, and one of the old ladies down there gave me some rice balls.”

Kagome, Inbe and Shippou brightened at the mention of food. Kagome got up to help pour the tea, steaming hot, and distribute the cups, and forced one on Inuyasha despite his initial objection that he didn’t want any.

The kitsune handed Shippou a large rice ball with a wink. “Here ya go, little guy. We haven’t met. I’m Yasei.”

“Shippou,” he answered before taking a huge mouthful. He was so hungry—he hadn’t eaten since he had that fried tofu with Soen, back before all this started.

With everyone occupied with the tea and rice, Yasei squatted on his haunches by the fire, and looked up at the old priest. “Shibutoi-san and her daughter are settled at one of the houses for the night, though Shibutoi-san herself is already burning up the phone line.”

“Who’s she calling?” Kagome asked.

“Her husband, her lawyer, the doctor—there’s more, but those are the principals.”Yasei smirked briefly. “I think they’re both gonna be okay. I also called the shrine, and they’re mobilizing. A car should be here in an hour or so, and some other help a little sooner.”

Shippou saw Inuyasha nudge Kagome, giving her a significant glare, but she just shrugged and continued listening, warming her hands with the cup of tea.

“Who are they sending?” Inbe inquired, his attention on his own cup.

“Just about everybody, sounds like,” and here the kitsune sounded a little worried. “Hanae-san sure didn’t like the story I told.”

“Hmm.” Inbe appeared to be thinking. “What was the reaction down in the village?”

“They weren’t freaking out as much as I thought they’d be,” Yasei said, thoughtfully. “One old lady was telling me they had a deal with someone, some protection on the mountain, so they weren’t worried. She wouldn’t say anything else, so no telling what that’s about. But none of them would come up here. They knew all about the demon sealed in the old building.”

“Protection?” Inbe considered this. “Interesting. I wonder if that would explain the creatures that drove off the nine-tail.”

Inuyasha sat up straight. “That wasn’t something you did?” he asked, his voice wary. He sniffed, and got up.

“No,” said Inbe, his eyebrows raised. “What are you—”

“As a matter of fact, it was us,” said a new voice, coming from above.

They all looked up. Perched on one of the remaining roof supports—the same one Inuyasha had used—was a strange figure. Swathed in robes that fluttered in the light breeze, it appeared to be a man, but how did he get up there? Shippou could see his face, oddly shadowed in the light reflected up from the fire. A long nose pointed down at them, and the glittering black eyes reminded him unpleasantly of the crows that had ringed the courtyard here, the last time he had seen it.

Kagome made a muffled exclamation. “The man on the road!” she gasped. The figure bent his head in acknowledgement. Suddenly there was the sound of flapping wings and harsh caws, and the sky filled with crows—and more than crows. There were larger figures, nearly man-sized, with crow heads and wings, but also holding weapons like pikes and swords. Some hovered, and others settled on perches in the rubble and in surrounding trees. All of them stared down at the little group by the fire.

Inuyasha had drawn Tessaiga and now held it threateningly. “Who the fuck are you and what do you want?” he snarled. Kagome got behind him, and Shippou ran to her. She looked nervously around them, with reason, Shippou noted uneasily—they were surrounded.

“Why,” he replied, bowing with a small flourish, “we live here. Thank you for rectifying this small problem.” The creature waved his arm over the destruction that was the manor. Then he leaned down, fixing them with his gaze. “Now, please get off our mountain.”

TBC