Chapter 25
True to Satan's word, Inuyasha found himself in the exact spot where he pulled Naraku into hell. He took a deep breath of the fresh, human air and relished in the blue skies that coated the atmosphere above. It was the morning after the fight and Inuyasha's acute nose could tell him from the fading scents that everyone had left soon after he was gone.
Stretching his arms above his head and getting the kinks out of his back, Inuyasha began the journey back to the village. Normally he would stop by the nearby hot springs to rid himself of the stench of blood and sex but he didn't want his friends thinking he was dead any longer than they had to.
He arrived at the outskirts of the village in the early morning and was quite surprised to smell that Kouga had not returned to his caves, but stayed with the humans.
"Must be closer to them than I thought..." he mumbled to himself. He slowly strolled towards the village, easily catching the attention of the few people who were up and about. He self-consciously ran his hands through his braids a few times, making sure he didn't look as haggard as he felt. As he approached the hut he could make out the figure of the wolf prince, no doubt waiting for him to return.
"So you're alive, huh?" Kouga asked, leaning against the frame of the hut with his arms crossed. He was doing a very good job hiding his surprise at Inuyasha's return from hell.
"Yeah..." Inuyasha started a bit awkwardly. He honestly didn't know where he stood with the wolf demon at the moment, "So...how's Miroku? And Sango?"
Kouga shifted and stood away from the hut, resting his hands on his hips.
"They're going to be fine. Sango just has a broken leg which was clean and fixable enough. Miroku has a few cracked ribs and a concussion, but he'll be fine soon."
Inuyasha nodded, "That's good."
Kaede and Sango had exited the hut quietly, not wanting to wake Miroku or the children. Sango hobbled up to Inuyasha with her leg in a bind and a crutch supporting her.
"I'm so glad you're alright Inuyasha!" she said, giving Inuyasha a small hug. He had figured that being a mother had made her much more affectionate and returned it.
"Of course I am," he stated confidently. Kaede, on the other hand, would hear none of it.
"Inuyasha ye look a fright. Perhaps ye should go bathe and I will fix ye up a meal. I had heard it was a gruesome battle."
"Indeed." a dry voice intoned. Sesshomaru had arrived much to the surprise of their assemblage, looking as regal and imposing as ever.
"I sensed Inuyasha at the scene of Naraku's demise and followed his scent here," he continued despite feeling he did not need to justify his actions to a group of ningens and lesser demons.
"You care?" Inuyasha asked hopefully. Sesshomaru would have snorted if it wasn't such a disgraceful action.
"I was merely curious as to how you survived, nothing more."
Inuyasha's face fell. He would work on worming his way into his brother's heart later. At the moment a rambunctious kit had awoken and taken note of his scent.
"Inuyasha!" Shippo cried, rushing out of the hut and jumping into his arms. Sango shushed him angrily, not wanting him to wake the other, which he ignored, "how did you ever get out?"
Inuyasha laughed nervously, patting the kit on the head, "Well, I, uh, I've got connections..."
While Shippo was still naive to the scent of sex, Kouga and Sesshomaru were not. His brother narrowed his eyes at him but chose to remain silent, merely lifting a shapely eyebrow at the clear course of his actions. Kouga on the other hand snickered, to which Inuyasha shot him a glare that managed to shut up the ookami. Composing himself, Kouga held out a hand towards the inu-hanyou.
"I know it's a bit late, but seeing as there's no reason for us to fight any longer and we have already fought in countless battles together..." he left the rest hanging. Inuyasha eyed the obvious offer of friendship for a moment before grasping his hand firmly with a grin. The wolf prince grinned as well. They were far too alike to keep up a pointless feud.
Sesshomaru continued to watch this exchange in silence. There was something nagging in the back of his mind; something that Naraku had said. Was his brother truly mad? By simply observing him, Sesshomaru could not quite pinpoint where that statement would prove valid. It was true that his brother seemed livelier than usual—friendlier, more open. But there was something else...something deep within his eyes that told him otherwise...as if there was a dark insecurity that had nothing to do with his being a half demon. Frowning, Sesshomaru resolved to think on that matter another time; he had business to attend to in his own lands and could not afford to squander his time pondering on the mental stability of a half-breed.
"I think we have had enough excitement for one day," Kaede said, ushering Sango and Shippo back into the hut, "Come now; Inuyasha ye take that bath and Sango and I will get to preparing breakfast."
"Yeah, you don't even smell like yourself anymore," Shippo stated.
"Hey..." Kouga said, suspiciously, "You really don't smell like Inuyasha..."
Inuyasha simply looked at him like he was crazy.
"That's because he's been with those foreign devils," Shippo replied blatantly, giving Kouga the same look Inuyasha had. Kouga shook his head and leaned his head closer to the junction of Inuyasha's neck and shoulder to get a better sniff.
"You definitely smell different. I hate to say it...but better..."
Shippo jumped up on Inuyasha's back to get a better smell, making the inu-hanyou feel very self-conscious to have two males smelling him so thoroughly.
"Well, yeah, he does smell a lot better. I thought it was because he was bathing more," Shippo suggested.
"What the hell are you two...?" Inuyasha trailed off as a frightening thought suddenly occurred to him. He didn't have his firerat robe anymore! He had grown so used to not having to fight demons, let alone avoid them, that the absence of his firerat armor had completely escaped him. It had seemed to him, when he first set off to the village, that more demons attacked him than usual. He should have realized it before now!
It was something he had never told anyone from the group; his firerat coat protected him in more ways than he admitted. His brother and the wolf prince weren't lying when they said he stunk, nor was Shippo. The coat had actually masked his scent with a rank one that managed to drive demons away from him; something that turned out to be dead useful to a near-defenseless hanyou pup. Without it, his natural scent was actually, for lack of better word, alluring. Half-demons do not want more attention from demons than they needed.
"About that..." Inuyasha began nervously, detaching Shippo from his flipside and backing away from the two demons. How was he going to explain this one?
"It was his firerat haori you smelled before. Now you smell his real scent," Sesshomaru stated, preparing to leave, "among other things."
Inuyasha glared at his brother, silently cursing him and his big mouth.
"Oooh! Inuyasha you smell pretty!" Shippo laughed. He shut up as a clawed fist crashed down on his head, "Ouch..."
"I'm taking a damn bath," he grumbled, turning and stalking to where the nearby river was.
"He does," Shippo whispered to Kouga who was desperately trying not to laugh.
"I heard that!"
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Inuyasha spent the next week enjoying the company of his friends. Kouga had gone back to his den to take care of his pack, Ayame and his child. When Kouga had first mentioned his cub to Inuyasha, the hanyou's face had flushed slightly, something that didn't go unnoticed by everyone.
It was around noon and the gang was enjoying a nice stew made by Kaede for lunch. Shippo and the boys were trying to throw bits of meat at each other behind Sango's back while Inuyasha and Miroku watched amused. Kaede would occasionally frown in their direction, which would only throw them into a fit of giggles.
"So now what are you going to do with yourself, Inuyasha?" Sango asked, pouring him some more tea. He had mentioned earlier that he needed to be going as he was already late to meet his crew.
"Well" Inuyasha began, "I heard of some new land recently discovered in west...west of Europe that is. I think I'll go check that out, see where it gets me."
"Wow," Shippo said softly, eyes alight, "It must be awesome; going where ever you please, whenever you please."
Inuyasha smiled at him and was about to comment when a light thud on the roof above them reached his ears, unnoticed by all else in the hut. From what he could bather from the scent, it was part demon and part human...but not quite half demon. Frowning, he stood, leaving his tea at his feet.
"What is it?" Miroku asked, worried by his behavior. He had sensed the presence of a demon but couldn't find anything threatening about it.
"Stay here," He muttered before leaving.
Inuyasha stepped out of the hut just in time to seesomeone land in front of him; someone, who by all rights, he should not have seen for centuries.
"I-Inuyasha?"
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The End!
... No really, it's the end! If you want to find out what happens, go read Millennium.
Hahahaha! I'm so cagey! So thanks for all the reviews you guys! Its been fun writing this thing.
Of course, perhaps one day I'll tell the story of the consequences of Inuyasha's little deal O.o...that's a perhaps.