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Chapter 24: Math and Vanilla Frosting

Shirokiba paced restlessly outside Kaede's hut, waiting for the verdict on Kouga's condition. Miroku, Shippo, and Inuyasha sat on the porch, watching the wolf-dog fidget. He hadn't stopped for hours, ever since his younger half-brother had been taken in to the hut to be treated by Sango and Kaede.

"I'm sure he will be alright," Miroku offered yet again. "Kaede is a wise healer, and Sango has a great deal of experience with demon-caused injuries."

Shirokiba barely spared him a momentary glare as he continued to stride back and forth.

"Kouga's tough," Shippo added meekly. "He's really hard to hurt. I'll bet he's fine."

Shirokiba gave a warning growl--the first either of the two well-wishers had ever heard from him. "Stop patronizing me," he rumbled.

Inuyasha leaned back against the porch rail, not looking at any of them. His expression was disinterested, as if he didn't care that Kouga's life hung in balance. But one of his ears remained tuned to Kaede's door, betraying his concern. "You're such a worrywart about these kinds of things," he commented. "Would you quit? You're making me dizzy, going 'round and around like that."

Shirokiba didn't honor him with a glance.

"I just ran my butt off to save a Wolf I don't even particularly like," the dog-demon went on. "You could be a little more appreciative."

"And a little less dangerous," Shippo muttered.

Shirokiba continued to rumble and pace.

"This isn't like him," Miroku whispered in Inuyasha's direction.

The dog-demon shrugged. "Naw. He always turns into a basketcase whenever one of his friends gets hurt."

Shirokiba stopped his pacing and planted himself in front of the dog-demon, glaring down at him. "Inuyasha," he began, forcing his voice to remain in his usual calm, instructive tones. "I am always concerned with the well-being of the people I care about. Kouga is very badly injured and has lost a lot of blood. I know that there is a slim chance he may die." He leaned closer to speak directly to the younger demon. "You were hurt many times as badly...that time. How do you think I felt about you? Show a little respect for my concern."

Inuyasha seemed to have shrunk a little, pinned to the porch rail with his ears flattened. "O-okay," he quickly agreed. Though Shirokiba's tone was amiable, the look in his eyes was not--but lucky for Inuyasha, the wolf-dog went back to his pacing, leaving the half-demon to breathe a sigh of relief.

The entire group jumped to attention when Kaede finally stepped out of her hut, wiping her hands on a cloth. Shirokiba whirled and froze instantly, his eyes wide and expectant.

"He is out of danger," the old priestess announced simply before trundling off to wash up.

Sango emerged a second later, looking just as haggard as Kaede had. There were bloodstains on the lower half of her kimono, as there were on Kaede's. She sighed tiredly, trying to smile cheerfully at Shirokiba and the others.

"How is he?" Shirokiba asked, stepping close to her.

"He's asleep right now," the huntress replied. "He has a lot of bad gashes, a few deep punctures, and some broken bones, but he's healing nicely already. He is a demon; he'll be okay in a few days."

The wolf-dog let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding--the first deep breath he'd taken in hours. "Good...he'll be alright. Can I see him?"

Sango nodded. "You can go in--but let him rest. Don't wake him up and get him excited."

"Yes, ma'am." Amazingly, he seemed to be back to his old self. He ducked his head obediently with a wry smile and scuttled indoors, as Sango headed off after Kaede, and Miroku--with his kitsune shoulder guard--followed her to ask questions. Inuyasha remained on the porch.

Inside, Kouga lay on the blankets spread in one corner. He was cleaned of blood and grime, and swathed in stark white bandages. Hours ago, Kaede had sent his bloodstained clothes and armor to be cleaned; now, his only covering was a warm blanket and his own mottled fur. He was very still, though his breaths were deep and even and his heartbeat sounded strong. Quiet and subdued, Shirokiba padded over to sit by his younger brother's side.

Lying there thus wounded, Kouga looked helpless and young--young like Inuyasha was, even though the Wolf was decades older. Shirokiba smiled softly and touched the younger demon's long black hair where it lay fanned out on the pillow, free of its restraining band. The straight strands were dark black, tempered with a sheen of wolf-brown and cinnamon that was only visible up close in certain light. Kouga was a darker version of Shirokiba, without the Dog-gray; both had received their coloring from their Wolf father, though Shirokiba's hues ran to platinum and pastel rather than black and shade. Kouga had his father's black-sprinkled coat, while Shirokiba had been shaded pale with his mother's gray.

"Little brother..." Shirokiba bowed his head. All the good times we had together...so long ago. We would romp and hunt together, with your little bachelor Pack of rowdy fellows. You and your Pack would help me bring down demon-bulldeer for a fine supper. You'd always get a kick out of me chasing Wolf bullies away for you, since I'm so much larger. It's always so different with Wolves; you never cared that I was half Dog--I was still your brother. You were barely a teenage cubling when I left you behind to care for Inuyasha. And when my little White pup was gone, and I'd finished wandering and returned, I found you were a man. I should remember now that you're a grown Wolf, not a cub. You're nearly eighty, after all. But I still worry over you. We...we've drifted apart sometimes, but we've always been brothers.

Sadly, he gave a deep sigh. But I have to tell you when you wake... I don't want you and Inuyasha to fight and destroy each other. I don't want to lose my two favorite pups to selfish, petty rivalry over a female. Kouga, little brother, how are you going to take it? Will you hate me if I tell you the girl you want is already taken? Will it be a wedge between us? Please understand...I do it because you're my brother and I love you, and I don't want to see you hurt...

But I sent you away yesterday because of that... It's my fault...I sent you right into their jaws...

"I promise I'll get those Dogs for you, little brother," he whispered aloud. "They won't get away with this. I don't care if they hurt me. I'm one of them, and I'm used to it--I can bear their abuse. But you have nothing to do with any of this. They've gone over the line attacking you..."

A faint footstep behind him made his hackles bristle involuntarily. "Inuyasha," he hissed, mentally kicking himself for not noticing the dog-demon approach. He was so intent on his half-brother he'd become oblivious to his surroundings--a foolish mistake for a hunter to make in the presence of other predators.

Inuyasha looked the fallen Wolf over, his expression cold and slightly annoyed but his ears again betraying him with their intent focus. "He looks fine," he said, almost as if to comfort Shirokiba.

"Yes. He'll be alright now, thanks to Kaede and Sango." Shirokiba gently smoothed his brother's bangs over the bandages around his head.

Inuyasha looked away, as if jealous of Shirokiba's tenderness toward the Wolf. "Are you sure you know what did this to him?"

"It was definitely dog-demons," Shirokiba replied, his voice hard and tight. "He tried to tell me--and the forest out there reeks of them."

Inuyasha's brows pulled down. "Dogs, huh?"

"Blacks or Grays, or even Silvers. They were big ones. If I knew who they were I could tell you why they're here, but I couldn't see any of them and I don't know their scents."

"Heh...cowards."

"If they were Gray Dogs--my Clan--then they're here to foil Ginnezu's plans somehow," Shirokiba said. "I might be able to talk to them. They would be an asset to us; Grays have long hated the Silver Dogs. However, if they were Black Dogs--or Silvers--then they are allies of Ginnezu and we're all in trouble."

"Well, whoever they are," Inuyasha said with a cocky grin, gripping the Tetsusaiga, "you want I should go out and prowl a bit? I'll put the fear of Seibunishi into 'em!"

"Not in the shape you're in," Shirokiba said sternly. "I don't want to have you end up here beside Kouga. You're so tired you're barely on your feet right now. Besides, I doubt those Dogs are still out there."

"Hmph." Inuyasha tucked his arms into his sleeves and leaned against the wall "So what should I do, then? I don't want to sit around and do nothing."

Shirokiba kept his back to Inuyasha. "I think you should go to Kagome and tell her what's happened. She'd probably like to know about Kouga. And you should warn her not to come here right now, at least until we figure out this mess with the Dogs."

"But...she's..."

"Just because she isn't coming here doesn't mean you can't go there," Shirokiba said with a hidden grin. "I don't think she'd mind a visit."

"Uh..."

"It couldn't hurt," Shirokiba added. "And she needs to be told, anyway, so she knows what's going on. If you don't, what if she comes back and blunders into something nasty?"

"Well...yeah," Inuyasha agreed reluctantly. "I guess I should go."

"You do that," Shirokiba said, turning to smile at him at last. "And do try to be polite about it, at least."

"Feh." Inuyasha merely snorted and headed out the door.

"Silly pup," Shirokiba chuckled with a fond look when he was gone. He turned to his unresponsive brother. "Well, he fell for it."

For a long time, he sat and thought about the Dogs, his brother, the attack, and their current situation, trying to puzzle out the meaning of recent events. What were a bunch of large, dangerous dog-demons doing all the way over here in Musashi's Domain? And why had they attacked Kouga? Had he challenged them, or merely gotten in their way? Or...had he heard or seen something he wasn't supposed to?

Abruptly a thought struck him. "Where's Ginnezu?"

"I haven't seen her," replied Miroku, making Shirokiba jump yet again.

"Miroku!" Damn, I'm getting careless if a measly human can walk up on me!

The priest held up his hands placatingly as Shirokiba calmed his ruffled nerves. "I thought she'd be with Inuyasha, anyway," the monk added. "But I didn't see where he went."

"You should tell Sango, Kaede, and the villagers to be on the lookout," Shirokiba informed him. "There's some dog-demons lurking about, and it's not wise to tangle with them. Inuyasha is the only one who should take them on."

"Good idea," Miroku agreed. "Oh, by the way--where is Inuyasha?"

The wolf-dog gave a secretive, knowing smile. "I sent him to get some rest."

When Inuyasha hopped out of the Bone-Eater's Well and approached the back door of the Higurashi residence, he could tell that there was no one home. Ears pricked, he heard nothing but silence within.

"Just my luck," he growled, feeling like a fool. "Now what am I supposed to do?"

He couldn't very well try to track Kagome down; she was at school now and if he intruded she would be furious. Besides, there was far too much of Kagome's world between the house and the school. Those few times he had ventured beyond the Higurashis' yard had made him very, very nervous and even more self-conscious of his inhuman appearance. Kagome had explained many times that the people here would have an even worse reaction to him than those in his own world.

I don't know when she'll be coming, so I'll just wait for her here. She doesn't need me to come rushing to her now--this is her world. It's safe.

With a shake of his head, he trotted to Kagome's window and leaped up to the sill. He was in luck--it was open a crack, so he nudged it wider and slipped in. He landed soundlessly, guarded, on all fours. Carefully, he crept forward and sat in the center of the room, ears twitching restlessly.

Her scent was so thick and rich here. It was so bright in his sense of smell that he could almost see it. He tilted his head back and breathed deeply, letting his eyes drift shut. It comforted him, her gentle scent, making it seem almost as if she were really there. But he knew otherwise; without her presence, the scent was a little...cold. Stale. Old. If she were there in the room with him...it would be warm and soft and overpowering. It was already so sweet--he wished she were beside him so that the rest of his senses could partake of her. He felt like just drifting...

His head snapped up, his eyes flying open. Idiot! he snarled at himself. This is no time to be falling asleep in her bedroom! Giving a snort, he padded over to the door and nosed it open, heading out into the hall. The scents of the rest of her family drifted there, many hours old as well. Her little brother's most recent trail led from his bedroom, while their grandfather's smell led down the stairs and probably to the shrine itself.

At the top of the stairs, Inuyasha paused again, ears twitching. Noises came from the front entryway below; a low rumble sprang up in his chest at the thought of someone invading Kagome's home. The front door clicked open, and footsteps sounded in the entryway. A scent reached his nostrils and a voice made his ears prick up in sudden eagerness.

"I'm home!" Kagome called from the front hall, her footsteps heading for the kitchen.

Inuyasha dove down the stairs, his claws clicking on the hall floor as he darted in her direction. Not used to varnished flooring, he skidded coming around corners and nearly slammed into the walls a couple of times. He skittered comically on his way, but managed to skid to a seated stop at the kitchen door, hop to his feet, and step inside, all without crashing. "Kagome!"

Kagome, already startled by his pounding run through the house, whirled to face him, her eyes wide. She stared at him a moment, agape at the almost goofy half-grin on his face as he gazed eagerly at her. That three-second clatter she had heard, something that had sounded like a pack of wild animals thundering through the house, had only been Inuyasha rushing to the kitchen. "What are you doing here?" she demanded, for lack of anything better to say.

Inuyasha seemed to realize what expression he wore and quickly changed it to his customary one, drawing himself up to face her. "I was waiting for you. What else?"

Her eyes widened even more. "You're not...here to take me back are you? Even after you--?"

"Feh--stupid girl," Inuyasha snorted. "I told you you could stay here and finish your business."

"Then why--?"

"Shirokiba sent me," the dog-demon explained. "Kouga came yesterday. He got hurt real bad last night, and Shirokiba wanted me to tell you--"

"You got in a fight with him, didn't you?" Kagome accused.

"Now wait just a minute!" Inuyasha growled. "I never laid a finger on him!"

"Oh. Then...?"

"He was attacked by dog-demons," Inuyasha finished. He then proceeded to fill her in on the events of the previous day, and the arrival of the wounded Kouga that morning. Kagome got more and more angry about the Dogs, and immediately wanted to go see that Kouga was all right herself. Inuyasha had a hard time dissuading her, but in the end, Shirokiba's sage advice won out.

"So now we have some new demons prowling around. And I still can't believe Kouga is Shirokiba's little brother!" Kagome exclaimed again. "Who would have thought?"

"And that's not counting some of the other things I found out last night..." Inuyasha muttered.

"Like what?"

The half-demon shrugged and turned away to hide the slight reddening of his cheeks. "Well...I...I'll tell you sometime..."

Kagome smiled. "Oh, well then...I guess I shouldn't worry about Kouga too much. He's a demon, after all, and it takes a whole lot to hurt you guys."

Inuyasha fidgeted at her indirect praise.

"My mom left a note--she's out shopping and she'll pick up Sota from school. It's just us and Gramps here this afternoon. And he's out napping in the shrine," she said with a wink.

Inuyasha's brows promptly shot up. "Uh..."

"Do you want a snack?" the schoolgirl offered. "Mom said she made cupcakes today. You want one?"

"Um...yes?"

Kagome giggled as she went for the covered tray of cupcakes. "You don't sound too sure. Don't worry--cupcakes are yummy." She paused to look at him over her shoulder. "Are you okay? You look tired."

Kagome's mention of "tired" made him suddenly remember that he felt that way, as he was leaning against the counter. "Didn't get much sleep last night," he grumbled. A yawn attack hit abruptly then, forcing him to comply.

Kagome just chuckled softly and shook her head at his gaping fangs and curled tongue. The yawn was very broad and exceedingly long. "Goodness, you are tired," she commented, opening the tray of goodies and looking in. "Oh! She made chocolate ones this time. Chocolate with vanilla frosting!"

She took one and held it out to him. "Go ahead," she coaxed. "Try one. They're good."

He raised an eyebrow, but hesitantly took it from her hand, almost gingerly. Kagome watched him sniff delicately at the cupcake and make an odd face.

"Smells...sweet," he commented, still looking it over.

"It is sweet, silly," Kagome responded. "It's frosting and...well, chocolate bread."

Peeling back the paper, Inuyasha took a large, fanged bite of the cupcake. As he chewed thoughtfully and swallowed, Kagome giggled at him. "Pretty good," he finally admitted.

Kagome's giggle burst into full-fledged laughter, earning an odd look from him. His odd look turned to a glare when she continued to chuckle. "What?"

"You've...you've got frosting on your nose!" Kagome managed to get out.

"Hm?" The dog-demon crossed his eyes and spotted the offending bit of vanilla creme. With a soft slurp and a flash of pink tongue, the dab of white on the end of his nose was gone.

"Whoa." Kagome was left staring, too surprised to laugh. "You've got a long tongue."

"What about it?" Inuyasha growled defensively with a grumpy shrug as he finished the cupcake in another two gulps.

"Well, I can't lick frosting off the end of my nose," Kagome retorted, miffed at his surly tone. Putting the cover back on the tray of cupcakes, she rose from the table and put her back to him. "I have studying to do," she announced, heading upstairs with her backpack. "Are you coming, or are you going back to the well?"

What's the matter with her all of a sudden? Inuyasha wondered, following her by way of answer.

Once in her room, Kagome set herself up at her desk with her books--and the new piles of homework--while Inuyasha watched her from the doorway, hesitant. Presently, she looked over her shoulder. "What are you waiting for? Come on in."

"I didn't know if you really wanted me--"

"That's never stopped you before."

Glaring, they stared at each other stubbornly for a time before Kagome's face softened. "It's okay. You can come in."

Invited, Inuyasha padded forward and stood for a minute. Then he grew bolder and looked over Kagome's shoulder as she resumed her work. "What is that?" he asked.

"Math homework."

"Math?"

"Yeah--you know, numbers and calculations."

"I know what it is," Inuyasha reminded her, almost sounding insulted. "That just doesn't look like any math I've ever seen."

Kagome stared at him for a minute. "Oh! These are modern symbols for numbers. They're a little less bulky than the old way." She proceeded to write out the equation using the old-fashioned method.

Inuyasha's face flashed comprehension. "I see! But...what're these symbols?"

"Those tell me what function needs to be done for what problem. This one means addition, this one means subtraction, and this one means multiplication."

"Hn." Inuyasha scanned the open face of the textbook. "Even if those modern numbers are 'less bulky,' those ones look complicated. What are all those drawings? Maps?"

Kagome saw where his claw pointed. "No, silly," she giggled. "I'm learning some advanced algebra and basic trigonometry. It's very complex math that has to do with missing numbers and finding angles. If I were going to teach you math, I'd have to start with the basics."

"Basics?"

"Simple computation. Like thirty-two added to seventy-five."

"One hundred seven," Inuyasha replied almost immediately.

Kagome caught her breath, staring at him. No way! He does not know how to do math like that! It couldn't be more than a lucky guess...could it? "Are you sure?"

"Positive. Any idiot can do 'simple computation,' you know."

She raised an eyebrow. "Let me see." She snatched up her calculator and checked his figures; sure enough, it was 107 on the dot. "No way..."

"What is that?" he asked, unable to stifle another yawn that snuck up on him.

"Oh--this? It's a calculator," Kagome told him. "It's a machine that will do math very quickly."

"Hm. Makes sense. You've got machines for just about every other damn thing you people do here--"

"Okay, okay," she said. "How about...eighty-three plus sixty-six?"

"Oh--one hundred forty-nine."

"Jeeze...how do you do that?"

The dog-demon shrugged. "My mother taught me how to read, write, and do figures when I was very little. It didn't take much effort to learn it. Putting numbers together is easy." It's figuring you out that's hard.

"Try this one." Kagome's eyes took on a challenging gleam. "One hundred fifty-six plus two hundred seventy-three."

There was the briefest of pauses. "Four hundred twenty-nine." There was a glint in his eye, too--he was enjoying this demonstration of his mental skill; he liked the chance to show there was more to him than demon muscle. It wasn't every day he got to show off his prowess with something other than his claws.

"Five hundred ninety-one plus three hundred eight."

"Uh...eight hundred ninety-nine."

"All right, here's a big one: Twenty-nine times thirty-four."

"Mmm..." He was silent for a few seconds, his eyes distant. Kagome could almost hear the abacus clicking in his head. "Nine hundred eighty-six."

She checked. "Wow! That is amazing! Introducing Inuyasha, the human calculator!"

Inuyasha scowled. "I'm not human."

Kagome winced. "Sorry. I meant--"

"I know." Finished showing off, Inuyasha stepped back and sat down on the floor. He was settled once more, as he had been before. Kagome's scent was around him like a blanket again, and now that she was there it was as alive and sweet as the drifting pollen of flowers in the summer. He took a deep breath and savored it for a moment. "So that's what you have to study all the time. Doesn't seem like much."

Despite the almost insulting quality of his words, his tone was somewhat sleepy. Kagome, back to poring over her homework once more, gave him a slightly sharp reply. "I'm doing much more complex stuff than addition and multiplication. And some of us don't have calculators in our heads. And I have other subjects to study, too, like writing, history, and science. We know a lot more about the world in my time, so all students have to learn it."

"Hmph." Inuyasha snorted, folding his limbs to curl comfortably on the carpet. "Some of us don't live in giant cities where there are free schools for everyone. I'm lucky to know what I do know." He yawned widely again and lowered his head, which felt inexplicably heavy.

Kagome paused, regretting her sharp words. He was right; in his world things like education were hard to come by. She was fortunate to be living in her era. Most average girls in Inuyasha's time were illiterate peasants with dull, dangerous futures ahead of them. "So..." she began hesitantly, "what else did your mom teach you?"

"Mm...." His voice was definitely dull and sleepy. "'Sides reading and writing, she taught me some cooking, court etiquette, a little bit of flute, an' some of her spells..."

Kagome turned quickly in her chair to face the sleepy dog-demon. "Her spells?"

Inuyasha's head was pillowed on his arm, but his eyes forced open at her insistent tones. "Yeah. My mom was...like Kikyo, only...a healer, not a warrior. And...not so strong..." His sleepy golden eyes drifted shut again. "'Snice 'n quiet in here..."

Kagome opened her mouth to press him further, but stopped when she saw his tired ears droop and heard his slow, even breaths. Sitting back in her chair, she smiled gently at him. "You poor silly boy," she whispered softly. "They're wearing you out over there, aren't they?"

With an understanding sigh, she let the young dog-demon sleep.

To be continued...