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The White Dog
by Becky Tailweaver
Chapter 7: White Fang
Kagome quivered as the giant demon-rat glared at her through slitted yellow eyes. Her throat would not work--she couldn't call for Inuyasha. She couldn't make a sound.
More huge than the rat-demons from the cave, this one was the size of a horse, with jaws like an alligator and paws tipped with talons like an eagle's. The hair was mangy and dark, and most of the body was covered in skin that was too oddly scaly for a mammal. The big rodent looked...almost as if he were slowly turning into a snake. A large jewel shard glinted in the monster's chest.
"I am not a snake, little human," the demon-rat purred in its harsh, gravelly voice. "However, I am far less gentle than my mistress!"
Karasuhebi must have...entrusted a part of her shard to him! Kagome thought wildly, trying to will her legs to move her backwards. She risked a glance at Inuyasha, and saw his frozen, shaking state. He was wild-eyed again, and probably would have turned tail and run if she were not in such danger. Inuyasha! Oh, no, hang on! Please don't be so scared!
The rat-demon grinned, foul ooze dripping from between greenish tusks. "Heh heh, I'll have my revenge, murduring half-breed," it said roughly to the frozen dog-demon. "First I'll eat your female, here, then I'll slowly strip the meat from your bones until you beg me to kill you quickly!"
Those words had a devastating effect on the fearful half-demon. His ears flattened, and he took a single step backwards. His face was tortured and frightened, and yet half angry too, as if he were fighting himself. The Fang hung limply in his grasp.
Kagome finally managed to take a step away. "I-Inuyasha," she squeaked, her voice barely more than a creaky whisper. "Help me...p-please...!" She was four feet away, now six, still backing steadily while the demon-rat watched her, amused. "Inuyasha..." She was still thirty feet away from him, and still far too close to the rat for comfort.
The demon-rat grinned and chuckled. "Your friend is afraid of my power," it croaked. "As well he should be! I'll tear you to pieces, little human. I'll do it quickly so you don't feel agony long--if you promise to scream well for me. I want him to hear you die...like I heard my mistress die. I want the dog-beast to suffer..." A low growl escaped him, and his fang-framed incisors were bared in eagerness.
That horrible thought was the last straw. "Inuyasha!" Kagome shrieked.
The demon-rat charged.
An inhuman cry escaped from Inuyasha; with a half-howl, half-yell, he forced himself to move at last. He was frightened beyond measure but somehow the danger Kagome was in outweighed his fear. But he was much too far away...
Something fast and powerful slammed into the rat's side, diverting its rush at Kagome so that the freight train of hair and muscle only grazed her, spinning her around and throwing her to the ground in a heap. The demon-rat slid to a stop a dozen feet away, its shoulder ripped open from the blow.
A demon aura tingled at her. At first, Kagome thought the savior standing over her was Inuyasha. But as her head cleared, she realized that the person's hair was far too short to be him. That, and he wore earthen orange and forest green battle gear, nothing like Inuyasha's red robes. He grinned down at her, baring fangs that were long and white. His eyes, while fierce, were kind and sparkled a bright gold-blue. His stance and the way he moved reminded her of Kouga, the wolf-demon.
Inuyasha finally appeared at her side, shaking with nerves and adrenaline even while concerned. "Kagome, are you okay?" he asked breathlessly.
"Ah...y-yes, I'm alright..." Sitting up, Kagome attempted to identify her rescuer, but he was gone, charging at the demon-rat.
Kagome and Inuyasha merely watched--the newcomer was meeting the demon-rat head on in a titanic battle, claw to claw in true demon fashion. And the rat was actually losing!
"Why don't you help him?" Kagome scolded, pushing at Inuyasha's shoulder.
The dog-demon looked at her, his fear stripping away the usual surly attitude he normally displayed. "I...I can't..."
Kagome stared at him incredulously. "One big rat and you're scared stiff? Inuyasha!" But she knew. He really couldn't. Only her life in danger was enough to break him free of his fears...
"He doesn't need me," the dog-demon said. "He's way too good for that thing."
It was true; with one razor-sharp set of claws, the battling humanoid demon plunged his hand into the demon-rat's chest. He took the Shikon shard with the rat's heart. The demon-rat shrieked and died--right atop the cow corpse it had left.
Inuyasha sighed. "Thank you..."
Kagome almost missed his tiny whisper. But before she could do anything, he was on his feet and bounding across the clearing towards the other demon.
"Hey!" he yelled, bringing the other around.
"It's you!" the new demon said. He tensed and crouched, and Inuyasha tackled him with a growl. They rolled over and over away from the dead rat-demon, wrestling.
At first, Kagome thought they were locked in mortal combat on the grass in front of her. Then she realized that the snarling growls were tempered with laughter and the seemingly vicious claw-strikes were pulled at the last second--not a drop of blood was drawn. Inuyasha and the stranger were...playing!
Finally, the tussling died down with the newcomer pinned under Inuyasha's claws, both of them giving each other terrible glares with their fangs bared fiercely and Inuyasha's ears flattened. Then they both began to laugh.
The newcomer reached up and tousled Inuyasha's white hair, ruffling his ears. "You little mutt! Where have you been all this time, huh?"
Kagome couldn't believe how happy the half-demon looked--it was unlike anything she'd ever seen. Inuyasha let the other up, chuckling. "I've been around. Wow, Shirokiba! What brings you all the way up here?"
"Aw...business, pal. Just business." Shirokiba got to his feet, followed shortly by Inuyasha. He looked young, like Inuyasha, but with demons you could never tell their age just by looking. The new demon's short hair was mottled with gray and brown like Kouga's but tipped with silver-gray. Like most full demons, he bore the elflike, pointed ears, and he had a wolflike tail the same color as his hair. "Heh. You grew up, little mutt."
"Shut up," Inuyasha growled good-naturedly. "It's been a long time."
"Almost sixty years, eh?"
"Sort of."
"What do you mean, 'sort of?'"
Inuyasha sighed. "It's a long story."
"I'll bet." Shirokiba's blue-gold gaze fell on Kagome, who came close to Inuyasha's side. "Who's the girl?"
"Her? She's...a girl I travel with," Inuyasha admitted, his once-happy visage falling closed again. "Anyway, thanks for...for saving her."
Shirokiba's eyes twinkled. "Figured you could use it. You always were spooky about rats."
"Shiro--!"
"Ha ha ha! Okay, okay! Introduce me to the lady, mutt. You're being rude."
"Huh? Oh..." Inuyasha shrugged. "Shirokiba, this is Kagome; she's helping me find jewel shards. Kagome, this is Shirokiba, a wolf-dog demon and an old friend of mine."
"I'm, uh, pleased to meet you," Kagome said politely, as Shirokiba bowed to her. His aura and the fact that he was a demon made her shiver, but she didn't feel the same sense of...fear that she did when she was near Ginnezu. Maybe Inuyasha's friend could be trusted.
Shirokiba winked. "She's quite a looker, mutt--she yours?"
While Inuyasha spluttered, Kagome blushed and giggled at his compliment--while something inside her trembled at the memory of what had happened in the cave of Hitai Mountain. "Oh--the shard!" she realized.
Inuyasha looked at his friend. Shirokiba shrugged, inspected the bauble briefly, then dropped it into Inuyasha's palm. "I don't need it," the wolf-dog demon said. "I have a good enough life without such false trinkets."
"Hm." Unconsciously, Inuyasha handed the shard to Kagome, who promptly bottled it. "We should get back and check on Ginnezu," he told her.
"Ah--so the Silver Daimyo's daughter has caught up with you?" Shirokiba asked, falling into step with them as they headed out of the clearing. Kagome stopped to pick up her bike on the way by.
"She has--and she's making a royal pain in the tail out of herself," Inuyasha grumbled. "Little miss bubbly-cutesie with the big eyes and big--oof!" He held his ribs where the other demon had elbowed him. "What the hell was that for?"
"There's a lady present, little mutt."
Inuyasha flicked a glance at Kagome. "What lady? Ow! Hey!"
Kagome stared as she walked. Shirokiba had just bopped Inuyasha on the head--just like the dog-demon always hit Shippo. What was going on between them? Shirokiba acted like he was Inuyasha's big brother.
Inuyasha rubbed the sore spot between his ears, grumbling. Muttering unkind things about the other halfling--but not half human--demon, he hopped to the other side of Kagome and her bike, putting the girl between himself and his friend.
"So, Shirokiba..." Kagome began hesitantly, looking up at the older demon. He was a little taller than Inuyasha, about Sesshomaru's height. "How long have you known Inuyasha?"
Shirokiba shrugged, hiding a smile at Inuyasha's frantic "no, don't!" gestures behind Kagome's back. "Well, let's see...I guess since he was a little pup. I found him sick and starving out in the woods, so I took him in and nursed him back to health, and pretty much raised him for a while after that."
"You mean you helped him after--?"
"After Sesshomaru tortured him and ripped--"
"Yeah, after the rat pit, Kagome," Inuyasha interrupted loudly. "He found me after I'd been out in the forest a few days."
Shirokiba gave Inuyasha a look, but seemed to dismiss the problem and go on. "I gave him a home and a place to sleep 'til he was old enough to look out for himself. I lived alone and I think we had kind of a rapport--a couple of half-breeds. But he didn't stay too long. I think he was about nine when he just took off one day."
Kagome gazed up at Shirokiba. "So you haven't seen him in a long time, huh?"
"Just about sixty years," the demon replied. He looked over at Inuyasha. "He's sure grown up since then. Heh, little mutt, I never expected you to get almost as tall as me! You were such a scrawny little pup."
Inuyasha glared and grumbled. "Why are you so surprised?" he asked, almost sounding imperious. "I am Seibunishi's son."
"Hm, that you are. And you look exactly like him, too."
Inuyasha froze on the trail. "What? Really?"
Kagome stopped to regard them both with surprise. Shirokiba looked at Inuyasha as though the half-demon had missed something obvious. "Well, you do," he said, seeing Inuyasha's disbelieving look. Before continuing, he began to walk on. Kagome followed first, so he addressed his further comments to her. "Sesshomaru, that high-and-mighty mister fluffy-tail, looks more like his mother than Seibunishi. Inuyasha's got Seibunishi's eyes, his looks...even a bit of his voice."
Inuyasha stared at his old friend without saying anything. Then he shook himself and hustled to catch up with them.
"I take it you're not a very old demon," Kagome was saying.
"No; I'm just about two hundred," Shirokiba replied. "Inuyasha was just a little whelp when I found him."
Kagome had a contemplative look on her face. Demons get so old...is Inuyasha that age? Wait--if Inuyasha was pinned to the tree fifty years ago, and he was nine when he left Shirokiba and Shirokiba hasn't seen him for almost sixty years...that would mean that Inuyasha would be only... Kagome gasped out loud, interrupting Inuyasha's conversation with Shirokiba--he'd been telling his friend about the Jewel, the God-Tree, and Kagome.
"What's the matter with you?" Inuyasha demanded.
"I just had a thought," Kagome replied, trying to avoid staring at him. "How old are you, really?"
Shirokiba laughed outright, as Inuyasha blushed faintly, grumbled, and stared at the ground as he walked. "Well, answer the lady, little mutt," the wolf-dog demon said, slapping Inuyasha's back and making him stumble.
"What does it matter?" Inuyasha demanded.
"How old were you when Kikyo pinned you to the God-Tree?" Kagome asked again.
Inuyasha stared at the ground, that faint blush still high on his cheeks. "...Sixteen..."
"Sixteen?" Kagome gaped at him, even as Shirokiba himself gave Inuyasha a curious glance. "All this time, you've made yourself out to be a big tough demon that everyone's afraid of--when you're really just a boy!"
Inuyasha growled at her, but didn't look up. "Sixteen isn't that young."
Kagome stared in disbelief and continued. "I can't believe it! The famous 'Inuyasha who seeks the Shikon Jewel' is almost the same age as me! You're just a kid!"
Inuyasha flattened his ears, still blushing red. "No, I'm not! In human years I'm--"
Shirokiba leaned over to tease the half-demon. "Actually, in demon years he's just a baby."
"Shirokiba!" Inuyasha roared, swiping at him with his claws. "Shut up!"
Shirokiba dodged, still laughing. "So you're not even as grown-up as I thought! Heh, I thought you had at least come of age! You're just an overgrown toddler! Guess I'm still your guardian, huh?" Laughing and teasing, Shirokiba darted out of Inuyasha's reach. Snarling, Inuyasha tried to nail him but he ducked behind Kagome, using her as a shield. The half-demon couldn't reach him by going through Kagome, so they feinted back and forth a couple times before Inuyasha lunged to one side of her and went for him.
Kagome sighed as Inuyasha chased the taunting wolf-dog around her. "Well, I guess he really is a junior-high school kid," she said softly.
When things settled--after Inuyasha strangled an apology out of a still-laughing Shirokiba--Inuyasha finished his own story of how he'd gotten mixed up with Kikyo, stuck to the God-Tree, and found by Kagome. He made himself out to be rather heroic whenever he talked of how many times he'd saved her life. After that, Kagome got Shirokiba to tell her more about Inuyasha's childhood and how he'd grown up. With Inuyasha seething on the other side of her and adding heated comments every now and then, she got most of the tale. Including some verbal "embarassing photos" that made poor Inuyasha practically die.
Shirokiba had let Inuyasha live with him from the time he was five. For four long/short years, he'd brought up the young halfling son of Seibunishi in secret from Sesshomaru. He'd taught him everything he knew about hunting, fighting, and other demons. Kagome was surprised to learn that Inuyasha had picked up his rough, surly attitude during and after his time with Shirokiba--the wolf-dog told her he'd actually been a very sweet, shy child. He and Inuyasha had come to regard each other highly in their time together, like brothers. Then, one day, Inuyasha had simply said goodbye and vanished. Shirokiba hadn't seen him since. And now Shirokiba was almost sixty years older and wiser, while Inuyasha had grown into a powerful young half-demon well able to take care of himself.
Inuyasha actually blushed faintly at that offhand compliment.
"So, Inuyasha, why did you leave?" Shirokiba finally asked into the silence that followed the story.
"I found out about the Shikon Jewel," Inuyasha replied softly. "I wanted it and I went looking for it. I wanted it bad, so I could be powerful enough to get my revenge on Sesshomaru. And...maybe...so I could stop being alone."
Kagome felt her breath catch in sympathy. Inuyasha was a half-breed, caught between two worlds he could never truly join. Humans feared him; demons scorned him. He had no one. No wonder he was lonely!
"You have me," Shirokiba said. "Now that I've found you again."
"And me, too!" Kagome added quickly. "And don't forget about Miroku and Sango and Shippo--and even Myoga!"
"That reminds me," Inuyasha said, lifting his head. "Where is the flea, anyway?"
"He never comes within a mile of real danger," Kagome said of the elderly flea-demon. "I haven't seen him since before we went to Hitai Mountain. I wonder what's up?" Actually, Kagome didn't wonder that much. She was fairly certain it had something to do with Ginnezu.
Inuyasha shrugged. "Well, it's not like I miss the little bloodsucker, anyway."
"'Course not," Kagome giggled. She was feeling much more relaxed--they were back at the edge of the village and Kaede was waiting to hear their report. For some reason, she felt very safe and confident with both Inuyasha and Shirokiba at her side. Inuyasha would not let Ginnezu harm her, and Shirokiba was Inuyasha's friend.
It was probably a bad idea for her to have thought about Ginnezu. Speak of the devil, they say...
"Oooooh! Mashiro-Inu! Darling!" A silver streak appeared from nowhere and latched on to Inuyasha's arm, shrieking and cooing happily. "You're back! You're finally back! I was soooo lonely!"
Grumbling, Inuyasha shrugged her off. Just then, she caught sight of Kagome and Shirokiba standing behind him. She stepped back, some of her bubbliness leaving.
"Lady Ginnezu," Shirokiba said, bowing politely. "I greet you."
Ginnezu aknowleged him coolly with a nod. "Hunter Shirokiba." Then she turned to Inuyasha and, with forced cheerfulness, asked, "Inuyasha, darling, what is he doing here?"
Inuyasha shrugged. "He's an old friend I met on the way home. Why? You two know each other?"
"Ah...only in passing," Ginnezu said quickly. "He does some errands for my father every now and then."
"I see." Inuyasha turned to regard Shirokiba, suspicion creeping into his golden eyes.
"I am not in her father's employ at this time, nor do I have anything to do with Ginnezu's presence here," Shirokiba said formally. "You have my word on that, Inuyasha."
Ginnezu relaxed invisibly, and Inuyasha merely shrugged again. "Whatever. Let's go, Kagome. It's dinner time and I'm starved. Shirokiba, you wanna join us?"
"I believe I shall," Shirokiba replied with a slightly triumphant look to Ginnezu. Chew on that, Lady. I'm invited and you're not!
Ginnezu simply ignored him and latched on to Inuyasha again. Kagome merely sighed with anger. Looks like she's made herself at home again.
After dinner and relating the rat story to Kaede--without mentioning Inuyasha's problem, of course--Shirokiba and Inuyasha met in the woods in the branches of the old God-Tree, leaving Ginnezu behind on her honor to stay put. Reluctantly, Inuyasha allowed Kagome to keep an eye on her as Shirokiba dragged him off to talk.
"So why are you here?" Inuyasha asked, settling comfortably against the trunk. "Why have you popped up in my life again after all this time?"
"Ginnezu," Shirokiba replied. "She's my business, this trip."
Inuyasha leaned forward. "I thought you said--"
"I know. And it was the truth." The wolf-dog demon sat down on the branch, balancing without effort. "Lord Ginpatsu tried to hire me to keep an eye on Ginnezu and make sure she did her job, but I turned him down. I didn't want to help them hurt you."
"What?"
"Ginnezu's not really as stupid as she seems, little mutt," Shirokiba informed him. "I thought you were smarter than that. Her father wants you brought back and set up as a puppet leader so he can continue to keep power."
"What are you talking about?" Inuyasha asked, confused.
Shirokiba sighed in exhasperation. "Listen: Before your father died, he banished Sesshomaru from his holdings and named you his heir before the entire Council of Clan Daimyos. He made them all take oaths, mutt. He was serious about you."
"He...was?" Inuyasha's eyes were wide and wondering. "He wanted me there...that much?"
"I wasn't there personally, but all the Dogs know. My mother was there. Remember? She's the Gray Daimyo's niece. She told me all about it."
"Oh."
"Anyway, Seibunishi asked Ginpatsu to manage the Western Lands until you were of age and could take his place." Shirokiba snorted. "The Silver Daimyo apparently likes his power too much. He doesn't want you to return and claim your place. If he finds out what I found out--that you truly are not aged of sixty years or more, then he will have what he wants: You under his thumb, and him still the regent of the Western Lands. And then when you are of age something might happen to you--an 'accident' or an 'illness.'"
"Are you sure?" Inuyasha asked.
"Not entirely; what I've gotten so far are just rumors," Shirokiba explained. "The only thing Ginpatsu explained to me in person was that he wanted me to help Ginnezu convince you to return, since I have old ties to you. I know there's more to their plan--I just don't know what it is."
"So you're only sure they want me back real bad."
"Bad enough to offer me quite a handsome bit of payment," Shirokiba replied. "Lucky for you I'm not a greedy demon, or I'd be sitting here telling you what a wonderful girl Ginnezu is and how much you'd be missing by not going with her."
Inuyasha's eyes were wide again. "And...I'd believe you..."
"Damn right. That's why Old Man Silver asked me." Shirokiba lay back on the branch lengthwise, pillowing his head on his folded arms. "I turned him down by saying we hadn't parted on the best of terms."
"But--"
"Look, I wasn't even sure what to say to you when I was done with the rat bastard. I didn't understand why you left. You just disappeared without explanation. I thought it was because of me and something I'd said or done."
"Is that why you never came looking for me? With all my exploits you should have known how and where to find me."
"I was tempted. But I wasn't sure if I should." Shirokiba chuckled. "I was amazed, though. The number of demons you mowed through and the reputation you made for yourself in five short years..."
"I did find the Shikon Jewel." Inuyasha sounded a bit triumphant. It was as if nothing had changed between himself and the wolf-dog demon; they had had many long talks together years ago.
"I bet you did," Shirokiba replied. "Mm...and I bet you met the legendary priestess who guarded it."
"Yeah..." There was a sad note to the dog-demon's voice. "She was an older girl--I think she was eighteen when I met her--and she was the first person I ever found who could beat me. She was very powerful. She actually treated me like a person--an enemy at first, but still a person. She was pretty nice, for a human."
"Fell for her, huh?"
"Uh..."
"I understand."
"Hm."
"You want to talk about it?"
Inuyasha was quiet for a long time. Then, in quiet and halting words, he began to tell his childhood friend and would-be big brother the details of his relationship with Kikyo, the horrors and trickery surrounding her death, and the strange connection to Kagome that he felt. Amazingly, he felt a weight begin to lift from his soul as he shared the burden of his inner feelings with his friend. He'd never had such a thing happen before; he kept most everything to himself, secretive as ever, never letting anyone help him carry the load of his pain.
It was the first time he'd talked of Kikyo and Kagome to anyone.
To be continued...