Tumgik
#OH ALSO before i run outa room. i should say. i took inspiration from a tf2 animation called POOTIS ENGAGED
luck-of-the-drawings · 2 months
Text
Tumblr media
THIS THING IS SCUUUFFED AS HELL & ITS ALSO THE BEST THING I HAVE ANIMATED THUS FAR. IM SO IN LOVE WITH EMIZEL. JUST WISH I GAVE HIM MORE STUPID TATTOOS. NEXT TIME THO. NEXT TIME. I ALSO LOVE VEX&VIV SOOOO MUCH. charlies flavor of Deranged is my FAVORITE!!
#cw gore#jrwi fanart#jrwi show#jrwi suckening#jrwi suckening spoilers#ACTULY FINISHED THIS A WHILE AGO. kept going back n forth between trying to work on it more or call it done#in the end i chose DONE!! i worked on this for a full day n a half. NO idea what possesed me but it is NOT happenin again anytime soon#i shall do better NEXT TIME!! in the meantime tho OH MY GOOOOOD WHO WANTS TO SCREAM ABT THE SUCKENING WITH ME#THE FUCKINNN THE FUCKIN THING WITH VEX N VIV BEING THE SHADOW LEADERS OF THE FANGS/DEMONS#OH MMYY GOOOODDD THATS THEIR LIL MEAT GENERATOR... THTS SO FUCKED UP AND COOL UUUGHHH I LOVE THEM...#THEIR FLAVORE IS SO WONDERFUL. I LOOOVE HOW SILLY THEY ARE. MAKING PUNS WHILE PULLIN A SCREAMING VICTIM APART#vex n his lil fashiony art workshop and viv n her sterile n clean doctors office#i bet she doesnt even HAVE a medical liscense. it would be funny if vex did tho. could u imagine#they main MEDIC in tf2 together. viv is the battlemedic while vex only pocket medics for her. COULD U IMAGINE#guh i could go on abt these two forever n ever n ever i LOVE THEMM i gotta draw em more....#OH ALSO before i run outa room. i should say. i took inspiration from a tf2 animation called POOTIS ENGAGED#the animator. Ceno0. uses black bars in the action sequences in SUCH A COOL WAYYY everytime i watch that video i feel inspired#oneday ill make more complex fight scenes... one day....#in the meantime UGHHH I LOVE THE SUCKENING SO MUUUCH CAN I JUST FUCKIN SAAAYY THAT I THINK EMIZEL IS A SMART COOKIE!!#THESE PPL FUCKING FEAR HIM NOW!!! 'SHAMIA SHAMI' IS NOW THEIR MORTAL ENEMY!! POWERFUL ILLUSIONIST. CANT DIE.#THAT PART AT THE END THERE WHERE HE FUCKIN. KILLS HIMSELF INFRONTA THEM. THATS SO AWESOME. THATS SO METAL. AND THEN HE COMES BACK!!#I WATCHED EP 7 ASWELL BUT I WONT SPOIL IT HERE. BUT OMYGOD. EMIZEL IS SO COOL AND CAPABLE N SMART N FUNNY N UGHHHHHH I LOVE HIMMMMM#OKAY THATS MY RAMBLE FOR THE DAY THANKYOU FOR READING. I READ ALL TAGS SO YOU SHOULD RAMBLE TOO. IF YOU WANT. IF YOU CAN.
547 notes · View notes
yetanothergreyjedi · 3 years
Text
What We Might've Been: Part 2
Part 1 Part 1.5
Part 3
Inspired by @liminalhollow 's Spork AU
For @dargeon-lissa @dp-marvel94 @aethtalon
...
“I- Uh- I’m not you- I-“ Danny racked his brain for an explanation that wouldn’t immediately get him killed. He'd entered the ghost's haunt. How had his room become a ghosts haunt?! But the thing didn't attack, didn't possess him, or use some mind altering power. It only tipped its head and watched him flounder for words. It seemed to notice it’s disguise slipping. The light in its eyes faded, leaving behind a dead grey-blue.
It sighed, "Did Vlad do this?"
"W-what?"
"Vlad Masters. Did he do this?"
"Why would Dad's creepy friend send me to the future?" He still didn't think it was the future, ghosts could have some crazy powers but that? No.
"Because he's a fruitloop." It answered immediately, and accurately, the guy from Wisconsin wouldn't leave his mom alone. But why, how, could he have anything to do with this?! The thing stopped, its eyes flashed green again for a moment as it said, "Wait- Future?!"
Danny nodded, he'd barely been sure what was happening but he was certain that's was what the ghost had said. Surely one ghost's explanation would be more accepted than the other?
“Where’s your medallion then?”
“My what?”
“Clockwork’s medallion. I know how time travel works."
Danny opened his mouth, then closed it. Ignoring the utterly bizarre statement. This was a trap, a trick. The ghost masquerading as him either wanted the object for itself or it wanted to remove his only protection against the other one, the one that had frozen him in place without seeming to expend a drop of energy. No, no, it couldn't have it. But there weren't many other options. He should've known better than to bring up the time question! He needed to get out of here!
He threw the first thing he could reach, hoping to catch it off guard and ran towards it— Through it, even better. He sprinted down the stairs. There was a flash of bight light behind him, he dodged low, almost throwing himself down the stairs before he realized nothing had been fired.
"Whoa, hang on!" Its voice echoed in a way it hadn't before. He kept running, not wasting a moment to glance at it, and ran directly into someone.
"Whoa! Hey, Dann-o! You came outa—"
"Ghost! In my room!" His dad didn't miss a beat, the gun was up by the time he finished the word 'ghost' and he was firing by time the sentence was over.
The specter dodged the first blast, made a shield for the second and paused to speak, "So not cool, man!"
His mom heard the commotion and joined the fray, while Danny sprinted to the basement. He needed a weapon, that thing had been mimicking him. He barreled into the lab, to the weapons case. Opened it and—
Crash.
He barely jumped back in time to avoid getting crushed.
What?!
Who filled the case with all this junk?!? The case was the second most important piece of the lab (the portal took first), not even Dad wouldn't do this?!
"Danny?" Sam looked at him from the other end of the room, slightly baffled. Tucker was also staring. "Did you bring it?"
"Bring wha—"
"Dude, what's with the jumpsuit?" Tucker cut him off, "Is it really that dangerous? I thought you said you blasted it?"
"What? We talked about the jumpsuit!"
"Did we?" Tucker looked to Sam.
"No." She affirmed.
"Could you explain it again, then?"
"Its cause of all the ghosts..." Danny said slowly, they should know this, he'd been wearing them since the first ghost attacks... Suspicion crossed both his friend's features.
There was a long pause, the pair shared a look and Sam demanded, "Secret word."
"Uh, what?"
"What's the secret word." Tucker clarified, as if that clarified anything.
"What are you guys- Hey! Whoa!" Three ectoguns were now pointed at him, Sam with twin wrist blasters and Tucker with a laser-y thing that had come out of his PDA (When did he do that? It was a very good idea).
"Who are you?" Said Sam.
"Is Vlad cloning again?" Asked Tucker.
"What? No! I mean I don't know! I'm not impersonating me, the ghost upstairs is impersonating me!"
"Nice try. Now answer."
"Uh... Sam?" Tucker was focused on the PDA screen. She glanced at him, quickly, before focusing back on Danny. She'd used these before, not like Sam... His Sam, who avoided any involvement with ghost hunting, who refused to accept that they were just monsters. "His scans are weird..."
"What kind of weird?"
"He's a level 2.5." Tucker switched to a whisper.
"What?" Sam followed suit, "That's too low for a shapeshifter."
"Uh... that's normal..." Danny lied, well kind of. He normally was a level 1.3 but he'd also just been in a ghost's lair (two lairs if you counted not-future-him's bedroom) and had a ghostly artifact in his pocket. Those things were likely to temporarily raise an ectosignature's power rating. He was 76% sure.
Another pause, Sam tried to gesture something while still aiming, there were some whispers he didn't catch. Then Tucker asked, "Did Vlad... raise you?"
"No!? Why does everyone keep talking about Vlad?! The Fruitloop lives in Wisconsin, I've seen him maybe twice!" The pair shared another look. He had no idea how to read those expressions.
He sighed, "You guys won't believe me."
"Try us."
"Yesterday I was at the—"
"Guys! We have a problem!" His hair stood on end as the ghost dropped through the ceiling. Danny shuttered. It was so much worse now that he got a look at it, it was wearing a Fenton hazmat suit, his suit, no, a mockery of it. The colors were inverted and the FentonWorks logo was replaced with some other symbol. That wasn’t the only thing inverted, twisted, he was staring at his own face only not. It’s tintless white hair stuck up just like his, and it’s eyes burned deadly ectoplasm green. Danny still didn’t have a weapon. “Oh, you found him! We have slightly less of a problem.”
“He’s saying Vlad has nothing to do with this... I’m not sure if I believe him.” Sam lowered her blasters, because he was somehow more of a threat than the monster crackling with unused power.
“Yeah, no... he said something about time travel—“ both of his friends groaned, “Then! He sicced my parents on me,” It turned his attention to him, “which is rude by the way! Honestly, I was getting close to being able to ask about a truce, but now they’re gonna be chasing me around for ‘attacking their son!”
“Oof,” Tucker added, as Sam asked about something the ghost could do to get his parents back on his side. Danny stopped listening and scanned for something useful in the pile of discarded machinery. Weapon, weapon, weapon... this wasn’t promising. There were blenders and half disassembled watches and a few things that looked like they’d been pulled out of a trash fire. The thing that looked the least like junk was probably a scanner, but his parents had started putting tasers in those, so it was something.
“Hey,” too late. the ghost was in front of him, he dove for it. Grabbed it. Rolled with the momentum and brought the scanner up as he got to a kneeling position. The thing came to life with a whirring sound.
The ghost laughed, the sound lasted longer than it’s mouth had been open, “That’s the ghost Gabber.”
“That’s the Ghost Gabber. I am a ghost, fear me!”
“Look, I don’t know what’s up with you, but really it’s better for everyone if you go back to whatever time you’re from.”
“Look, I don’t know what’s up with you, but really it’s better for everyone if you go back to whatever time you’re from. Fear me.”
“Could you please turn that off.”
“Could you plea—“ The sound died as Danny flipped the switch and tossed it back on the pile. Why did his parents even make that?
“Why should I trust you, Ghost?!”
166 notes · View notes
lunarianillusion · 3 years
Text
A change in fate
a maribat fanfic
Chapter 02
Along with the changes to her room, Marinette had also changed her wardrobe. She now wore a cropped baby blue hoodie over a grey-purple shirt, that matched her leggings. Over her leggings she wore a high waisted demin coloured skirt with matching heeled ankle boots. A new larger purse, more a satchel really, hung from her shoulder. It allowed her to carry her sketchbook and other tools more easily. Her hair now mostly hung lose over her shoulders with two braids coming from the sides and connecting at the back of her head.
Once she was ready Marinette walked at an easy pace to the agreed meeting spot. Duusu Had taken to hiding within her hood, so that they could drink in all of the sights. Being both not used for a hundred or so years and being broken, made this a real treat for the little peafowl. Marinette could practically feel the little god vibrating with joy, to be outside in the world again. 
The sun was shining through the clouds and a soft breeze made the early autumn leaves rustle in the trees, as the two reached the park. Marinette could already spot the red-haired omega sitting on a bench close to the pond in the shade of a willow tree. He was fidgeting with a pencil and his sketch book lay on his lap. His posture looked tense.
By the look of it he too had a wardrobe change. Marinette was gonna bet that Marc had helped with the ensemble. Those two were inseparable. He wore a white long-sleeved turtleneck shirt with grey stripes on his chest. Faded navy pants and a jacked tied around his waist. A black and white backpack with rainbow details sat beside him.
“Hey, Nathaniel,” Marinette called out, gaining said boy’s attention as she neared.
“Hey, Marinette,” Nathaniel greeted, his shoulders losing the smallest amount of tension. “Glad you could come. I hope you weren’t too busy.”
“Circumstances made it so that I had nothing scheduled today. But I do hope you were not lying about it being important. Otherwise I will send the Fury’s of art upon thee,” The blue-eyed girl exclaimed in a posh voice. Marinette hoped that it would lighten some of the tension that was flowing through the air and it seemed to work. There was no need for an Akuma today.
“Oh, I beg mercy of thee. Do not condemn me to such a fate, for I would not dare to break my vow,” Nathaniel exclaimed in kind, placing his hand on his heart. It made both of the omegas chuckle and the hidden kwami purr softly.
“So, what is it you wanted to talk about?” Marinette asked, as nonchalant as possible. As she sat down on the bench and pulled out a thermos from her satchel. Which held the gods elixir, coffee. “It sounded quite urgent from your text.”
“Yeah, it is,” Nathaniel said sheepishly, scratching his neck. “But it is not an easy subject to start a conversation with. Or to talk about in general, I believe. So, let me first ask you how you are feeling. I know you have probably had this question asked to many times already. But I know what it is like to be akumatized and of the nightmares that follow so don’t try to say that all is just hunky-dory great.”
Marinette hummed at his words, raising an amused eyebrow at the last bit. Before turning her gaze away from the redhead. Her sharp eyes scanning the surroundings for any uninvited guests. While she knew Nathaniel would keep to his word the scent anxiety kept her slightly on edge. Paranoia had settled deep into her over the past few years. Only the little hidden kwami’s presence was what kept her calm. For Duusu would inform her if someone with bad intentions was to come close.
After a moment of thought Marinette answered. “I was a bit shaken after the whole event, who wouldn’t? All considered though, I think I am doing pretty good.”
After the whole reveal of her being a true soul, Duusu had helped sort out her emotions. They had given her a few suggestions on how to more healthily coupe with the more negative ones. Who knew writing your problems down on a slip of paper and then watching it burn could be so therapeutic.
She turned her gaze back to Nathaniel. “As for the subject of our meeting. Just be blunt about and we will go from there. Keeping it bottled up and it will only stress you out over time and I really don’t wanna deal with an akuma right now,” She accentuated the last part of her statement.
“Yeah, that would really kill the mood wouldn’t it,” Nathaniel sighed. He took a small breath to collect his courage as Marinette took another sip of her coffee. Then Nathaniel bluntly stated: “I know that you are the original ladybug.”
Cue spit-take from Marinette. Mental panic has reached its peak! Abort!! ABORT!!!
“Uhm…I don’t know wha-”
“Don’t even try Marinette. The amount of times I saw ladybug land on your balcony only for you to leave through the front door and vice versa. Was a big enough give away. After that your physiques just matched up,” Nathaniel boldly interrupted. Leaving Marinette in a stunned wide-eyed stare. “Hey, I might not be a fashion designer, but I am an artist and have an eye for these details just like you.” He said quickly with a small stutter. Since he was feeling a little unnerved at her wide-eyed stare. It was as if she was staring into his soul.
“How long have you known?” The female omega asked tentively, her scent spiked with anxiety. Her body language screamed that she was ready to bolt.
“For maybe seven months now,” Nathaniel replied carefully.
“Did you tell anyone?” Marinette asked further, the tension not leaving her.
“I told no one, not even Marc. I know of the importance and reasons behind a hero’s secret identity,” Nathaniel told her sincerely, allowing Marinette to breathe a small sigh of relief. The redhead then let out a small growl of annoyance. “Unlike a certain tabloid reporter and two-faced liar.” Now that that really got the noir haired girl’s attention even more than him knowing her secret.
“The spell broke,” Marinette whispered as his words settled into her brain as her eyes widened even more, if that was even possible, in surprise. While she had been frightened at the fact of him knowing her secret, but he had not told anyone. She could tell that he was honest in the fact that he had not told anyone.  Since otherwise her identity would have probably been public news by now. Secrets like this would spread around like wildfire with the slightest slip off the tongue.
So, she was now more interested in the fact that he called Rossi a liar. It meant that he had broken through her spell and she wanted to know how he came to this revelation. Had it come after he had fond out about her hidden I.D. or was it something else. She was practically vibrating with a curious need to know and asked him about it.
Nathaniel turned his eyes to the sky, several emotions running trough them. Most prominent was the look of shame and pain. “It did weaken her hold over me, but what really made me realise she was a liar was when she promised to introduce me to one of my idols. One I know to have passed away. I won’t say their name, but that really broke the illusion for me,” He spoke bitterly.
Marinette let out a pained hiss at that. Knowing how painful it is to have someone disrespect your inspirational idols in that manner. She softly rubbed his shoulder in comfort and gave a small apology. Nathaniel let out a gloomy laugh and turned his eyes to the ground.  “You have nothing to apologize for Marinette. I should be the one to apologize. For never mastering up the courage to stand up for you even after I realized Lie-la’s grandeur was nothing more than empty words. And I am truly sorry for that. Because after everything you have helped me with, I really should have.”
Marinette felt her heart flutter at his apology and then he just kept on rambling about how he should have stood up for her. How he should have trusted her. Making her feel hot tears gather in her eyes. She had waited so long to have one of her friends back and here was one. Trying his best to make amends and unlike the rest of her class, he had never hurt her in the same way the others had. He always remained kind to her even before he knew of her secret. He may have been afraid to stand up but did not try to ruin her life like the others. So, she had no trouble pulling him into a hug. At first it shocked the boy, but he gratefully returned the gesture.
“Don’t blame yourself. You did not do anything wrong. You did not turn your back to me like the others did. I don’t blame you for not standing up against Rossi. You would have only painted a target on your back, and she would have made you feel miserable. Like with me,” Marinette whispered. “And I need to thank you for keeping my secret all this time. It means the world to me.” Nathaniel tightened his hold on the girl as a few tears of relief and gratitude fell from his eyes, as the words left her mouth. Duusu nuzzled against her neck in comfort. A feeling of pride washing over the kwami of emotion at his little bird.
_____________________________________________________________________
After they let go of each other they settled back into more comfortable sitting positions. The atmosphere feeling lighter than it had been around them for a long while.
“If it is okay to ask,” Nathaniel spoke carefully. “Is the new ladybug permanent? Because if I am being honest, I don’t really trust her.”
Marinette let outa pained sigh. “I made a grave mistake and because of that this new ladybug has the ladybug miraculous. I don’t know how to rectify this mistake, but I will find a way. That is a promise.”
“You always find a way,” Nathaniel assured. “I’ll keep my eyes open as well. I might not be the bravest, but I want to help. After everything I need to help. Even the tiniest bit.” Marinette wanted to say he did not have to. He did not let her say it. “You have forgiven me, but now I need to forgive myself. So let me help. Paris is my home to.”
It made Marinette smile as she felt the sincere emotion and determination flood of her fellow omega. “Now if only I knew how Lie-la is capable of keeping our classmates and others at her bag and call. That might help take bit of stress of my back,” She sighed. Her eyes scanning the sky, hoping it held the answers.
This made Nathaniel scratch his neck again sheepishly. “Marc and I may have a theory on how she keeps everyone under her spell, actually,” He mumbled off.
Marinette whipped around so fast it was a wonder she did not get any whiplash. She grabbed the redhead’s shoulders and looked straight into his turquoise eyes. Her own silvery blue crystal eyes were ablaze with a cold fire. “Please explain how that two-faced bitch is killing all the fucking braincells of the people around us and turning them into fucking sheep,” Her voice had an icy chill to it that sent shivers up the Nathaniel’s spine.
“I didn’t know you could curse,” Nathaniel said trying to curl away from the internally raging female omega.
It resulted in Marinette raising an eyebrow, unimpressed. “Trust me when I say Chloe can swear like a bloody sailor. So, I learned a few things from her,” She huffed a small smirk on her face. She then let go of his shoulders, giving the redhead some room to breath, as a curios gaze replaced the once cold fire. “Please share. My curiosity is going to kill me.”
Before Nathaniel could start telling her about the theory however, a loud explosion penetrated the air. Both omegas turned to the source of the sound. A good distance away they saw a person a top a glider. They cackled madly as they threw loud explosives around.
Really Hawkmoth, can’t they have one day of peace? 
The answer: Nope.
“How about we continue this conversation tomorrow over lunch. Chloe and Marc can join in on the theory. I do believe Chloe will be thrilled to know how Lie-la is capable of maintaining the utterly ridiculous situation at school,” Marinette proposed. Her eyes never leaving the new akuma.
“You are going to investigate, aren’t you?” Nathaniel asked nervously. Marinette simply nodded not looking at him. He sighed, “I won’t be able to change your mind, will I? How can I help?”
“It would be best for you to get to safety,” Marinette advised. Turning to look him directly in the eye and stopping him from objecting. “You have no need to worry about me. I still have an ace up my sleeve. So, trust me,” She assured with a mischievous look in her eyes.
Nathaniel stared uneasily at his fellow omega before nodding. “Alright but be careful, okay, I better see you at school tomorrow.” Was the last thing he said before grabbing his stuff and turning away to go to one of the akuma shelters. Leaving Marinette alone.
Taking a quick survey of her surroundings, to make sure the coast was clear, she asked Duusu to come out. “Are you ready?” the little god asked. Marinette smirked in reply. Let’s see what they were capable of.
“Duusu, Spread my Feathers”
Authors note: hey i hope you enjoyed reading this chapter. a few people have been asking me about adding them to my taglist and being honest i am not sure of how to do that. i am still very new with tumblr, but once i finally stop being dumb i'll be sure to do that. i hope you will stick around to the rest of the story. stay save.
90 notes · View notes
mamabearcat · 5 years
Text
Into the Woods - Part Five
Hey! I’m having trouble blocking out my big ass fight scene - I want it to be awesome sauce, so I’m spending extra time on it. But, because the first half of the chapter is an entirely different pace, I thought I’d let you have that now. So, short chapter, but sooner! Thankyou so much for all the love this fic is getting - seriously, I’m so flattered and amazed. 
Also, a quick explanation - in this AU, I’ve decided youkai age the same as humans until they hit their peak physical strength at around thirty, and then their aging process slows down (makes more sense to me anyway - who would wanna be stuck in their awkward teen years for decades!) Inu’s in his mid twenties, a couple of years older than Kagome.
Tagging my two main cheerleaders for this @clearwillow and @keichanz and also @redflamesofpassion​ @xxracheyxx @mcornilliac@inuyashasnook @cstorm86 @xfangheartx @wenchster
Song inspiration for this one is The Last of the Real Ones - Fall Out Boy
I was just an only child of the universe And then I found you And then I found you You are the sun and I am just the planets Spinning around you Spinning around you You were too good to be true Gold plated But what's inside you But what's inside you I know this whole damn city thinks it needs you But not as much as I do As much as I do, yeah'
Cause you're the last of a dying breed Write our names in the wet concrete I wonder if your therapist knows everything about me I'm here in search of your glory There's been a million before me That ultra-kind of love You never walk away from You're just the last of the real ones
Part One  Part Two  Part Three  Part Four
Tumblr media
 Kagome couldn’t stop smiling as they walked away from the dojo and back down the darkened hallway. She was still scared, terrified even, of the confrontation still to come, but suddenly her whole existence made sense.
 She’d made sure to never reveal to her family and friends how utterly disconnected she’d felt from her life in Tokyo. No matter how hard she’d worked, how hard she’d studied, how hard she’d laughed to cover the existence of that small soft voice, she’d always felt that she didn’t fit. A weirdly square peg in a teeming city of smooth round holes. The discovery that she made sense here in this place was a little overwhelming, but in a good way.
 She tightened her fist around the grip of the bow; it was comforting feeling the roughness against her palm, the weight of the quiver on her shoulders. She had purpose. And discovering it had rather a lot to do with the gruff but good hearted hanyou walking beside her in the darkness. She gave the large calloused hand that was safely leading her through the gloomy hallway a grateful squeeze.
 A sudden thought occurred to her. “Hey Inuyasha?”
 “Yeah?”
 “You said before that you grew up knowing what you were destined for. How did you know exactly?” The gloom was lessening, she could just about see his silvery hair now, and she was relieved. She had always been a little afraid of the dark, and it helped to have something to focus on. She could see his pointed ears swivelling back towards the sound of her voice, and she pushed down a sudden urge to reach up and touch them, find out if they were as soft as she hoped they might be.
 “My father was a Guardian, so I grew up here in this house. There was no way of escapin’ it. And then when I was ten, I was chosen by the Tessaiga”, he said, reaching back with his free hand and fondly patting the axe handle near his shoulder. Light from the onsen was filtering down the hallway now, making it easier for her to watch her step, but in the shadows behind his back she saw a pulse of yellow light surrounding the axe, as if in response to his touch. “The Tessaiga originally belonged to the first youkai that battled alongside Midoriko, and it’s passed down to each new Guardian to wield after they’re chosen. Each generation pours more youki into it – it’s sentient to some extent; knows who the best match for it would be. And it chose me.”
 “Wow!” breathed Kagome. It was so fascinating to learn that outside her regular boring existence in Tokyo there was a place where something this magical continued. Especially now that she had found out that she had some part in it.
 “Was there some sort of ceremony when you found out?” she asked eagerly, moving up to walk beside him now that she could see better. She could just picture it; a crowd of Youkai children all reaching out to touch the axe with no response. Then Inuyasha laying a small clawed finger on the handle and emerging triumphant, holding the axe up over his head with those cute puppy ears standing up straight on his head, a proud beaming smile on his face. It made her happy to just think about it. She was surprised to hear his cheerless sigh.
 “Not exactly”, he shrugged, guiding her past the onsen and back into the main room. “About fifteen years ago, Ichiro and my father were asked to help at another shrine – the Guardian’s never usually leave the shrine unprotected, but a dragon youkai clan moved down from Tokyo causing trouble. The bastards thought they could run some sorta yakuza style drug smuggling operation outa the port in Fukuoka, and it would have been bad if it had escalated to include our area. My father and Ichiro didn’t want to take the risk of a physical attack on the shrine, in case it released Naraku. There ended up being a massive battle with several shrines involved. My father never came home.”
 “Oh, Inuyasha”, gasped Kagome, squeezing his hand gently, “I’m so sorry!”
 “Can’t change what happened. He was a great dad, and I missed him for a long while; still do, but I’ve learned to live with it”, he said, shrugging again. “Anyway, Ichiro made it home relatively unscathed; he’d managed to bring the Tessaiga with him. Said that a choice would have ta be made between me and my brother, seeing we were the only ones left from the original youkai blood line. Everyone was expectin’ Tessaiga to choose Sesshomaru, me included.”
 “Why?”
 He scratched the back of his head self-consciously. “Well, he’s the eldest – he’s nearly ten years older than me, and he’s full youkai. His mother is an inuyoukai, like my father, and comes from a very influential family in Kyoto with a lot of political clout in youkai society. My mother was human, just a local girl from the village, with no other family of her own. My father fell in love with her and after I was born, they got married. Sesshomaru and his mother had already moved back to Kyoto. They’d been divorced for a while before he met my mother.”
 Inuyasha stooped to tip a ladle of water over the fire pit, dousing the embers. The only light in the room came from several covered lanterns which hung from brackets in the wall at regular intervals, and the round full moon rising over the mountain, shining through the large window behind them. Inuyasha’s hair gleamed like polished silver in the moonlight, and Kagome noticed his amber eyes glowed, cat-like in the semi-darkness. She supposed that made sense, seeing he could see well in the dark.  
 “So Sesshomaru didn’t live here with you?” She put down her bow and quiver and picked up the empty teacups and saucers, placing them back on the black enamel tray with the teapot and tea caddy. She followed Inuyasha as he took the tray from her and carried it and the kettle over to a small sink with a hand pump.
 “Nope. Just me and my Dad”, he said, pumping water into the sink and adding the remainder of the hot water from the kettle and a small squirt of detergent. “Mama died when I was eight, from a fever.” He picked up a teacup almost reverently, stroking around the gold rim and over the hand painted image of dainty plum blossoms before he placed it in the hot water along with the other teacup and saucers, washing each carefully. 
Kagome swallowed a small noise - she realised with a pang of empathy that the tea set must have belonged to his mother. She had wondered earlier why such an obviously rough and ready outdoorsy type of male should possess such a thing, but now it was perfectly clear. Spying a dish towel on a hook, she took it down and dried each cup carefully after he’d washed them, placing them back on the enamel tray next to the ornate tea caddy. Smiling his thanks, he rinsed the teapot, and passed it to her for drying.
 “Sesshomaru only came back from Kyoto because Ichiro called him to let him know about Dad’s death. Both a them thought Tessaiga’s choice would be a formality - they were pretty pissed when it chose me.”
 “But why would my Great Uncle be mad if the sword chose you?” she wondered, placing the dry teapot on the tray. “I mean, you were obviously meant to be the Guardian?”
 “Uh…” Inuyasha paused, looking sideways at Kagome, who smiled in understanding and patted him on the arm.
 “You can say whatever you like about him. I only met him once, when I was much younger, and I didn’t like him, not at all.” Kagome hung the dish towel back on the hook and crossed her arms, glowering at the memory. “He came to my Father’s funeral, tried to get my Grandpa to turn me and my very pregnant mother out of my father’s house so it could be sold, seeing my father had left no will. Grandpa refused, and they yelled at each other. I think it caused some sort of rift between them, because Grandpa stayed in Tokyo to help look after us, even though he didn’t really like living in the city at all. And Mama told me when I was older that Papa had moved away from Takamori village because he didn’t like the way the Higurashi family controlled everything.” She startled at Inuyasha’s rumbling growl.
 “That explains a lot actually. He said he wanted to wait until he’d spoken to your grandfather before choosing a successor, but if they weren’t talkin’ to each other at all… keh! It sounds just like somethin’ he’d do. Whenever my Dad wasn’t around, he spoke to my mother like dirt. Misogynistic bastard.” He growled, pulling the plug to empty the sink. “He never liked me either. Didn’t let a day go by without lettin’ me know how Sesshomaru would a been a better choice. He didn’t like youkai much, but he liked half-breeds even less.”
 His eyes widened suddenly and he swung around abruptly, turning to face Kagome. “Wait, you said that he came to your father’s funeral?” Kagome nodded. “And you said that the first time Midoriko spoke to you was just before your father died?” Kagome nodded again, and Inuyasha’s sudden roar of anger made her jump.
 “Fucking bastard!” he yelled. “He would a known! He would a been able to tell that Midoriko had chosen you, and because he was a narrow-minded bigot, he chose to look the other way! You could have been here Kagome, all those years ago!” He paced the length of the room, snarling, clenching and unclenching his fists spasmodically. His voice deepened, his previous pleasant baritone gravel becoming harsh and rasping. “Always knew there was somethin’ wrong. I couldn’t trust him. We never worked well together; our spiritual energies never blended. And he always said it was cause I was a hanyou, that Tessaiga made a mistake. That I was a mistake.” He roared his anger towards the window where the shrine on the mountain was just visible in the light of the full moon. “YOU’RE LUCKY YOU’RE FUCKING DEAD ALREADY BASTARD, OR I’D TEAR YOU APART!”
 “Inuyasha?” said Kagome uncertainly. She felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up in response to the pure rage rolling off him as he paced around the room. She understood why he was so angry. She would be upset too if they didn’t have much bigger problems to handle at the moment. She had to try and help him calm down.
 “Inuyasha!” As he strode past her, she reached out her hand, tugging on his sleeve, and squeaked in surprise as he flicked his gaze toward her with a snarl, his teeth shutting with a loud snap. The sclera of his eyes was a deep ruby red, and jagged purple marks snaked across his cheeks. He looked savage and wild in his anger, ready to hurt anyone who opposed him.
 But instead of doing the obviously rational thing and running away, Kagome threw herself toward him, wrapping her arms around his waist and burrowing her face into his chest. She could feel the frantic pulse of his heartbeat and the vibration through his chest from his increasingly loud growls of anger. The axe on his back seemed to pulse too, a heavy dominating presence against her own, demanding that she submit and cower. His clawed fingers wrapped around her upper arms with bruising pressure, but she refused to pull away.
 “Inuyasha, it’s okay!” she shouted, tilting her face to the side, trying to be heard over his anger. “We found each other, and it’s all going to be okay. Please, I need you to calm down! I don’t know how to do this by myself!” The snarls grew less intense, and the pressure around her arms lessened. She felt Inuyasha’s head drop to hers, his cheek resting on her hair, heard him struggle to calm his breathing. She tried to squeeze her arms around him even tighter, rubbing her face against his chest, the buttons on his shirt hard against her cheek.
 “It’s okay”, she repeated softly. We’re together now. It’s okay.” The growling stopped altogether, and his arms wrapped around her shoulders.
 “Sorry”, he sighed heavily, still trying to calm his breathing. “Sorry you had to see me fly into a battle rage like that Kagome. That should only happen when we’re in mortal danger. I lost control a myself. ” He rubbed his cheek against her hair, and Kagome made a soothing sound. “Kagome”, he sighed wearily, his voice still a low and rasping. “It’s just, for the last fifteen years I was told that I wasn’t enough. I thought there was something wrong with me. And you said before you had felt the same way. And to find out it was because we were meant to connect and had been deliberately kept apart… I’m sorry Kagome.” His hands moved to rub up and down her upper arms gently. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
 Kagome looked up and shook her head, relieved to see the anger fading from his face. “There’s no need to apologise - I’m glad I could help. We’re meant to be a team, remember?”
 She reached up hesitantly to stroke feather light touches over the fading purple marks on his face, smiling a little as a blush flooded his cheeks to cover the jagged lines. “Inuyasha? I know we haven’t known each other for very long, but… before, there was this moment where I felt… like a link… a… a…” Her own cheeks flushed, and her expression twisted in frustration, groaning at her inability to put what she felt into words. She pulled her hand from his face to clutch at his shirt, hiding her face in his chest again.
 “I felt it too”, he said softly, resting his chin on the top of her head. “It was our souls accepting each other as a guardian pair. A bond formed – you accepted me as your protector, and I accepted you as the heir of Midoriko’s spiritual power. It don’t always happen like that Kagome.” A short rumbling growl vibrated against Kagome’s chest. “You only gotta look at how well me an Ichiro worked together to see that.” He swallowed; Kagome could feel the movement of his Adam’s apple near her forehead. “Part of my training was reading the shrine records. They said sometimes, a pair of guardians is reborn, wanting to find each other again. They said it only happens when it was a very strong pairing, a true friendship.”
 “A friendship?” repeated Kagome, unable to hide the slight tone of disappointment in her voice.
 “Sometimes friendship, sometimes… more”, breathed Inuyasha, the blush on his face intensifying.
 Kagome tipped back her head and beamed at him, her eyes lighting up, a blush still pinking her own cheeks. Then she looked at him seriously, standing up straighter and releasing him from her hug. She placed her hands on his chest and pushed herself away from him a little, creating some space between them. “But first, Naraku”, she said in a very serious voice.
 “Of course”, agreed Inuyasha, in the same serious tone. And they both walked over to the genkan, sitting down to put on their boots in a determined way, lacing them tightly, securing weapons, ready for the fight to come. But Kagome couldn’t help the small smiles and glances she continually sent his way. And she couldn’t stop her heart beating faster and the swooping feeling of pure joy she felt when he returned each little gaze with a beaming fanged grin.  
❤ Support me on Ko-Fi ❤
Part Six
60 notes · View notes