by
Anaphalis
Summary: Kagome's got a horny kitsune, an invisible 'friend' and a kamikaze quest with a five hundred year deadline. Oh yeah, and she's disguised as a boy. But when did that ever get in the way of "twue wuv? Let's just not answer that... Rurouni Kenshin X Inuyasha crossover. Drama/Romance.
Chapter Summary: The best guests are the ones that bring their own weapons.
.
Distribution: My site and FF.Net. All others please ask before taking.
Feedback: Much appreciated at [email protected]
Disclaimer: Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi and Shonen Jump. Rurouni Kenshin belongs to Watsuki Nobuhiro and Jump. Brushes on this page courtesy of Pure Anodyne.
Quick Vocabulary:
Shi- death
Kage- shadow
Oniwabanshu- literally "demons who guard the lord", an elite group of secret warriors (often referred to as ninja) who protected the last of the Tokugawa shogunate during the Meiji revolution
Ishin Shishi- supporters of the emperor who overthrew the shogunate during the Meiji Revolution and brought in the Meiji Era
Hitokiri- assassin
Okashira- leader of the Oniwabanshu
Always wanting help
Will make you weak
The price of loving life
Does not come cheap
Climb out of your well
Protect me
-James, "Protect Me"
Kikyo must have done some pretty nasty stuff in her lifetime; because there is no way that I accumulated all of this bad karma on my own. I know I'm not Buddhist. That doesn't mean that I'm not firmly convinced about the karma-thing-
Hey! Watch it, Shi! Just because I can't talk doesn't mean that you can treat me like a sack of potatoes! And for gods' sake, watch where those swords are poking!
I should probably be nicer. I mean, carrying me does leave him completely open to attack. Not to mention that he's starting to look some kind of circus act with those four swords attached to his waist- Damn! That hurt! What the hell is he thinking? I get sick just thinking about walking in the garbage on Kyoto's streets, much less taking a swim in it. So how the hell does a bloody kitsune trip over his own feet?
Oh. Right. He walks for three days without stopping so that he can get me to safety. Don't I feel like a witch- ignore that moan please.
Oh no. He's opened my yukata to make sure I'm okay. Darn those worried green eyes.
"Hold on Kage- we're nearly there."
You're far too good to me, Shi. Now please, please ignore that whimper.
Not a chance. Thirty seconds later and he's got me propped on his knee while he checks my forehead.
"Gods, you're burning up!"
Yes, I am. I've got three days of complications from a basically untreated chest wound. But there's nothing you can do about it right now, so stop beating yourself up.
Okay, going faster is not really going to make either of us feel good right now.
"I swear that we must have really pissed off the gods at some point this last mission. Nothing's gone right since we left Tokyo."
No argument there. I'll have to tell him my karma theory when my throat doesn't feel like I'm hosting a fire ant convention.
"I know, I know, I should treat the gods with more respect and stop making stupid jokes. Honestly though, it must have been one hell of a stupid joke to get us into this mess."
He's so sweet to remember that he shouldn't insult the gods around a Shinto priestess. I'll ask the gods not to smite him. And Shi- it wasn't the jokes. The jokes are bad enough that they're considered a form of punishment all by themselves.
Was that a noise behind us?
Apparently Shi hears it too, because he's switched me to a one-arm hold, one hand on his sword hilt. We've been lucky- so far we've avoided the thugs. We've also avoided the authorities. They tend to not so politely tell us that swords are no longer allowed in the new era of peace. I don't know if Shi's been disguising the swords, but I do know that he is far too close to exhaustion for any of his disguise spells to hold much longer. And that would be beyond disastrous-
Apparently we're both jumping at shadows. Shi's relaxed again, slung me back into a carry hold. Easy on the legs there- they may not have permanently crippled me, but it still hurts when you put my open wound over top of your sword hilt.
Wait- we're leaving the street now, entering a property. Does this mean that we're finally almost there? I guess so- Shi's knocking on the door now, trying to straighten up and look imposing. It's too bad that he's in almost as bad of shape as I am. I swear, the next time I get my hands on that damn woman-
I can feel Shi's hands shaking. This is not good. They better be fast to the door or he's going to drop me on top of them. Shi seems to know this too- the door's barely opened before he rushes out the greeting.
"I claim sanctuary with the Kyoto Oniwabanshu as a representative of the Tokyo family. 'Let the hawk feel the blood in his talons.'"
Shi and I had a long conversation once about secret societies and their incredibly showy passwords. We decided that it was a compensation thing. Of course there's also the creepy predator imagery they all seem to use-
Something's wrong. There shouldn't be this much tension coming from the other side of the door. My vision's been all off since the accident, so unless something's literally in my face I can only make out blurry shapes and colors. I have no idea what our doorman looks like but he's hesitating an awfully long time before giving the counter-signal-
Aw hell. I bet it's because of that damn hitokiri again. Why the hell did the chief Ishin Shishi assassin have to be a short red-head? It's not like long red hair is all that common anyways, but added to the fact that Shi's a swordsman.... Well there seem to be a lot of people still holding a grudge against the Hitokiri Battousai. I remember Toyama-san warning us about something like this in Tokyo, but we were in too much of a hurry to get our job done to pay attention. In fact, didn't Toyama-san mention that the Okashira of the Kyoto branch had a special grudge against the guy? I need to think of something- neither of us are up for a fight right now. Maybe if I channel some of my powers I can make a ward-
"Let the nest feed on his success."
Forget the hesitation- what a voice! The guy sounds like smoke over velvet. Probably is sixty years old and pock-marked, but damn!
"For a minute there, I was afraid that I'd got the wrong address- Kage would kill me if I gave away the password to a random stranger."
What are you doing, Shi? We're warriors- we don't make jokes. If we're feeling particularly conversational we grunt manfully. Gods, he must be on the verge of collapse. I've never seen him break character like that before.
"Kage?"
That'll snap him out of it. No one else is allowed to call me by name except him. I can feel him stiffening under me, becoming the disciplined soldier.
"He needs medical attention immediately. I have all the supplies I need to treat him, but I need a space and fresh clothes and boiling water."
There's the voice that an emperor would envy. Shi always claims that he doesn't have any taiyoukai blood, but sometimes I wonder.... Oh good. Our reluctant doorman is efficient. He's provided house footwear and ordered clothes and water from some shadowy servant. Now he's leading us towards the back of the compound without any further questioning. I'm trying to make my eyes focus on him, but all I can tell is that he's tall. And dark. Oh, and he's got one of the most brooding auras it has ever been my pleasure to be smothered by.
Seven hundred and thirty-three foot steps without a word of conversation. One- this place is huge. Two- I'm really bored. Three- This is taking the 'strong, silent' thing to extremes.
Oh wait... It looks like we're stopping now, some kind of bedroom- I think I can make out a futon.
"Is this where I can work?"
Was that a grunt of approval?
Obviously tall, dark and brooding isn't a big conversationalist. What a waste.
Oh... That's nice.... Thanks for being so gentle, Shi. It feels so good to be able to lie down again. It looks like the servants were faster than we were- there's a bucket of water and some clean clothes beside the futon already. Well actually there's a brown blob and a couple of white blobs, but I'm pretty optimistic.
You've gotten way too good at this, Shi. How many times have we bent over one another, cleaning out life-threatening injuries? I'm getting too old for this. Doesn't matter if my body doesn't age- it's times like these that I feel every one of my four hundred and nineteen years.
"Will you need any assistance?"
Wow. He even sounds vaguely concerned. You're not even going to look up are you, Shi? Once you start working, you don't let anything interrupt you. It wouldn't hurt to be polite here- we need the sanctuary.
Well, it seems like our personal mute isn't offended enough to challenge Shi- I can hear the screen closing.
"I am Shinomori Aoshi, Okashira of the Kyoto Oniwabanshu. To whom do I extend guest rights?"
Oh hell.
You don't offer guest rights unless you don't trust the guest. By accepting the rights, you both agree not to kill each other for the duration of your stay. It's practical, but more than a little insulting. Shi always hates people who offer guest rights.
Come on, Shi. Don't get your pride up now. As much as I hate to admit it, that last hit was a little too close for comfort and you're far too close to collapse. We need his protection.
"I accept guest rights on behalf of Higurashi Kage. I accept guest rights for Higurashi Shi."
Awards Contact Links Extras Main