Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of its characters only those who are not represented in the anime/manga are of my own creation
An old woman dressed in old fashioned priestess garment stood over looking the once prosperous village that resided at the base of their lord's castle. Flames rose high into the sky, billowing clouds of black smoke covered the night sky so no stars could be seen. The old woman watched with a heavy heart as the white head of her lord's true form rose up from over the tallest building that stood crumbling. From the clenched jaw acid spilled, screams could be heard as it fell on people, causing them to melt into nothing. Large paws stamped down buildings, razor sharp teeth tore at fleeing people, leaving nothing but destruction in his wake.
She knew not what happened to their once fair and just lord, only that he was now blind and raging with greed and an unless bloodlust. Something had to be done before her lord caused more damage than had already be done. Clasping her hands together she began a chant that would hopefully be strong enough to hold her lord at bay. Her life was ending, she had many cuts a bruises from trying to save her people. Even if they were not enough to kill a person, she was old and weak. Her time had come long ago but she held on, she assumed it was for this reason.
With her last breath she cast her spell upon her lord, "You have destroyed all what you used to hold dear. You listen to none as your greed for money and power consumed our soul, tainting it. Until you can learn compassion and love, I curse you to remain in your true form at its weakest." Purple beams of light spread out from her body, gathering around the dog demon's form. It growled and barked, snapping its jaws at the light as it fought the power binding it. As her body began to fall, her eyes slowly closing for the last time, she murmured. "I pray for your soul, Lord Sesshoumaru..."
500 Years Later
Beep-Beep, Beep-Beep, Beep-Beep, Beep- whack! "Enough!" A young woman groaned as a hand slammed down on the rattling alarm clock. Pulling back the navy blue comforter, a mass of midnight blue locks rose upward. Shaking the sleep from her head and patting down her unruly hair, the woman sighed. "I hate Mondays..." Tossing her legs over the edge of the bed she stood. Her black tank top rose slightly to reveal the flat belly that now grumbled with hunger. She blushed prettily and pressed her hands to her stomach. "Breakfast time!" This brightening her day as she padded barefoot to the kitchen to pour a bowl of Lucky Charms. Sitting down at the small table she looked around he equally small apartment. "You need to make more money." She said to herself and quickly ate her breakfast. Getting up and dropping it quickly in the sink she ran to the shower to prepare for her day.
Steam poured out of the bathroom revealing a refreshed woman. Hair flowing down to the small of her back in straight lines. Bright hazel eyes shimmered as she grabbed her work uniform. She shrugged, it could have been a worse uniform. She worked at a pet grooming parlor. The outfit was khaki with dark brown paw prints decorating the bottom and a large paw print on the breast pocket with her name embroidered on it in white spelling 'Kagome'. Pulling her khaki slacks she slipped her black sneakers on just in time to hear the knock on her door.
"Kagome, hurry up, we're going to be late!" A female voice echoed from the outside.
"Coming!" Kagome said as she trotted to the door and opened it up. "You say that every morning and every morning we're always early, Sango."
The woman known as Sango merely smirked. Her dark brown hair tied into a high ponytail and her rich brown eyes glittered playfully. "Then I know its working." Sango looked to only be a year or so older than Kagome, having a type of sisterly friendship. "Come on, the bus is about to arrive." They were both old enough to drive, Sango having her own car and Kagome had her license but the shop was so close, it was cheaper to either walk or take the bus, today it was the bus because the weather said it was going to rain, heavily.
Grabbing her bright green umbrella she chimed. "Lets go~"
Sango rolled her eyes as she gestured to the umbrella. "Do you know how obnoxious that color is?"
This made her laugh as she retorted knowingly."I know, thats why I chose it. No one will steal it and I will know its mine."
Laughing all the way to the bus station, they paid their fee and found the bus to be so full they were forced to stand and hold onto the railings overhead. Sango leaned in close to Kagome. "I hate when the bus is so full, you always know there is going to be some kind of PERVERT!" Sango suddenly squealed as she whipped around, hand connecting with the face of her offender. Her eyes wide as she saw the helpless smile of her boyfriend. "Miroku, you know better you letch!" She cried out as he removed her hand, her boyfriend Miroku sporting a nice red palm print on his left cheek.
"But my dear Sango, my day can't begin without feeling that lovely rump of yours." Sango blushed a dark red and turned her head away.
This was how nearly every day started. Miroku is a handsome man, standing at a head taller than both woman. His black hair pulled into a small ponytail at the back of his neck. His bangs just short enough to reveal his violet, miscievious eyes. He had a reputation for feeling up girls and asking them to bear his children. That was until he met Sango, her reaction to him made him pursue her futher and after months of never leaving her alone, she agreed to be his girlfriend. They've been together for two years now. This made Kagome envious, sure she had gone on dates now and then. She was already twenty-one and she felt it was high time she had a steady boyfriend.
Unfortunately all the men she dated were short lived romances. They were sweet in the beginning and after only a month they would try to get her to sleep with them and would get angry at her refusal. This would end with her calling them a jerk and dumping them or them dumping her for being too much of a prude and she would run to Sango who would have a tub of Ben&Jerry's 'Everything But The...' icecream and a series of sappy romances with happy endings. 'Well, excuuuuuse me for having some respect for myself. A month is just too soon to just give yourself away like that.' She huffed at the memory. Yes, she was still a virgin.
Brought out of her musings by people shuffling about, she followed Sango and Miroku out of the bus. It was only a corner away from their shop and about a ten minute bus ride with all the stop that followed after theirs. "See you at six, Miroku?" Kagome asked, Miroku worked at the coffee shop next to their pet grooming shop. They had a routine where once they got off from work at six, they would be the last customers Miroku would serve before his shift ended at six thirty and he would send them off before he went to his second job which, Kagome still had no clue what it was. Whenever she asked Miroku would shrug and say she wouldn't want to know and Sango would just blush and nod in agreement. Something was up with those two and she would find out eventually. So long as it was nothing illegal, it was none of her business.
The rain had started and she opened up her umbrella to protect herself from the rain. She left the two behind as she always did to open up first. Miroku and Sango always had 'long goodbyes' that involved lots of kisses and then Miroku going too far in public and Sango would smack him again, entering the shop a few minutes later huffing about stupid men and how she should just dump him but she never does. As much as she hates to admit it, she was truly in love with Miroku. Kagome felt a pang in her chest, she wanted that, badly. Someone who loved her unconditionally. She chuckled, but hopefully he wasn't a letch like Sango's boyfriend. Right as she was about to reach the door she saw something that made her stop dead in her tracks and her eyes fill with tears.
She ran over to the door that had a long black leash tied off at the door handle that was connected around the neck of a dog. It was the most beautiful dog she had ever seen. Pure white in color and the look of a labrador. 'I never knew they could be such a white color.' She shook her head of the thought, the poor thing was left at her door for who knows how long. There was no note of abandonment, she looked around, most shops were closed still and they wouldn't tie them to the handle of a shop if they meant to return. "Cruel bastards." She muttered beneath her breath as she held her hand out to the dog. It growled darkly and it caused her hand to retract a bit. "Hey now... I'm just trying to help you. You don't want to stay here, do you?" She reached her hand out again and with its growl remaining, lessened in volume, it took a wiff of her hand before quieting completely. "Good, lets get you untied and out of the rain, shall we?"
Untying the thick set of knots on the door she sighed. "Someone really didn't want you getting away..." Frowning she opened the door after jumbling the keys, her lunch box, umbrella and dog leash. As soon as she got the door opened she entered and was halted and let out a surprised squeak when at the end of the leash was dead weight. She looked behind her and saw that the white labrador was still seated outside the shop and still in the rain. She gave a small tug, it only caused the dog's ears to bounce slightly and its body to jostle a bit but refused to move. "Come now, I won't hurt you. I have a warm towel and food to give you." Just as she was about to go over there herself and push the dog in, he slowly rose up. 'Good god!' Her eyes widened, the dog was huge. Standing it had to be bigger than any dog she had seen before. 'What did it feed on as a puppy, steroids?' She giggled softly, looking down to see its large wolf size paws padding on the ground and stopping right before her.
Just as she was about to get a towel and food, she saw Sango enter. As usual, her cheeks were flushed and she huffed, cursing about stupid men until she saw the dog. "Kagome, who is this? We're not opening for another half hour, where is the owner?" She looked around as if expecting to see some man or woman in the waiting room.
Kagome smiled sadly as she said, "Poor thing was tied to the door handle of the shop, no note or anything, I think maybe it was abandoned."
Sango looked mad, she waited for the out burst. "How could someone do that to an animal!" Her screech made the dog jump slightly and let otu a small growl. "Oh.. sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." She went to pet the dog's head and he growled in warning making her stop. "Doesn't seem that friendly Kagome, maybe we should call the pound?"
Kagome gasped as she had gotten a towl and a dog bowl. "Sango don't say something like that! You know what they do to animals that aren't those happy go lucky types. Maybe it is just traumatized, it is abandoned after all!"
The older of the two apologized quietly and went around the shop, turning on the lights, setting up the baths and preparing everything for the job. Kagome knelt down and placed the bowl of food down, being a pet grooming place, they also sold all sorts of pet accessories and needs. The white dog lowered its head and sniffed at the food and sat up, turning its head away in disgusted, pushing the bowl away with its massive paw. "Picky eater, are you?" She rolled her eyes at its 'holier than thou' type attitude. She went to brush its fur dry with the towel when it suddenly growled, flashing its rows of glistening white teeth and she eased back some. "Hey! I was only going to dry you off, but if you want to sit there dripping wet, the its less work for me." As she was about to get up, she felt a yank on the towel, its paw as pressing down at the corner of it and looking at her with striking gold colored eyes. "I see you are a smart one." She mused. She was rewarded with a large huff of air as it sat up straight and allowed Kagome to dry the dog off off.
"All done!" Proud of herself as she had dried, brushed, and fed the dog. It seemed the only food it found acceptable to eat was the the most expensive brand the store had. 'Figures, probably ate its previous owners out of house and home.' Though once she saw it, she felt bad, it was still no reason to abandon the creature. She also didn't even know what to call it. She bent down, attempting to look between its legs for gender. She was greeded with a sudden wall of white fur as it flopped down on its stomach and looked as if it was glaring at her. "I just want to know your gender so I can think of something to call you."
Sango over heard this and called out jokingly from the back room. "You can always call it princess!" Seeing the accepting look in Kagome's eyes the dog shot up into a standing position and turned its head to stare intently at Kagome.
At this, Kagome laughed as she saw the gender. "No can do, Sango. Princess is a he." He growled at the name and shook his head, his ears flopping and causing the soft chiming of the collar tightly around its neck. "You have a collar?" Her hands went into the thick fur and sure enough there, tight around the throat and hidden beneath the thick fur was a collar. "Its so tight!" Her hands roamed around it and could not find a clasp. "Thats odd..." But it didn't look like he was having trouble breathing so there was nothing she could do, it felt like thick leather and she couldn't cut it. Her fingers connected with the cool metal formed in a small disk. She had to push up his head in order to get close enough and she was surprised when he let her do it. "So lets see if you have an owner." She turned the disk around and found nothing on the back and when she looked at the front she saw a bunch of deep scratches that made the word hard to read but she made out 'shouma'. "Well, I can't make out all of it but I guess Shouma will have to do!" Standing up, she looked down at Shouma who seemed not to care, at least it was better than Princess and part of his name.
Dusting her hands off, she went to flip the sign open, the bell that hung over the door rang and right on cue 'Madame Fae' came waltzing in. Her thich perfume always made Kagome's eyes water. Her choises of dress were always gaudy with frilly dresses and she had tucked in her perse the most pitiful rat dog.
'Ahem, Chihuahua.' Kagome thought. She felt so sorry for it, Madame Fae's dog Prinston had a diamond collar that weighed more than him, he shook and looked as if he were going to pass out at any sudden sound.
"Kagome dear~" Madame Fae crooned, her lips pursing with bright red lipstick, her make-up was always overly done and too colorful. "Prinston will be competing in the up coming dog show and I need you to make him bea-u-tiful for the show. I know you can do it Kagome dear, you always make Prinston look so precious."
Kagome smiled faintly and nodded, she only did what she was trained to do. "Of course, Madame Fae." She took the shaking dog from the woman and handed him off to Sango to get him ready for the bath.
"I'll return in the afternoon, lovelies. Ta-ta~ Kiss kiss~" She blew kisses and walked out the door.
Sango rolled her eyes. "That woman, I swear, if she weren't the best tipper and frequent customer we had I would kick her right out the door for making my eyes water with that god aweful perfume she wears!"
This made Kagome release a bubbling laughter. "I would be right with you, Sango, holding open the door!" The two girls laughed as they went to work. The day went off without much excitement. Madame Fae returned that afternoon as promised and spent a good hour picking out more accessories for her dog who probably had one of everything they had in stock. Not that they minded, she was the reason they could keep their shop open. "Time to close up, Sango." Sango finished washing her hands and nodded, going towards the door to flip the sign. "Another day done!" They both pumped their fists in the air and Shouma looked unimpressed at their antics.
"What are we going to do about him?" Sango gestured with her head toward Shouma who now looked up at them with mild interest. "We can't leave him here over night. I guess I could take him home."
Gathering her things, Kagome shook her head. "Don't you already have Kilala to take care of? I don't think Shouma would appreciate rooming with your cat." As if agreeing, Shouma let out a sharp bark, Kagome continued, "Also, your landlord is still trying to get you to get rid of her."
With a sigh of defeat, Sango agreed. "Yeah, thats true."
Looking down at Shouma Kagome decided. "I'll take him home with me. I already have a pet friendly apartment and I have all the stuff I need right here." She wove her hand indicating their shelves of dog related items.
"Alright, if you're sure. Call me if you need anything, okay Kagome? Are you going to go to the shop with me or straight home?" Sango pulled on her black jacket and zipped it up.
"I think I'll go straight home, I'd like to get Shouma situated as soon as possible."
Once the shop was closed and Kagome's arms were filled with the 'Dog Essentials'. Kagome picked up a their latest food bowl for Shouma, it seemed to fit him. It was white with blue cresent moons along the side, it was just a feeling she got. She had to grab that expensive dog food, it was the only one he would at least attempt to eat, she would have to pay the store back for it to make sure the register added up. Shouma picked out the dog bed, he had literally pulled it from the shelf and curled up at it, as if saying 'I refuse to leave without it'. Of course, Kagome had to give in. It was a rich navy blue color and was their largest bed that was only slightly bigger than himself. It had a raised end to allow the head a rest and tapered off at the end to allow the body to stretch out more. The toys were simple balls and chew toys for now, he didn't seem like the kind of dog that would want to play with them anyway.
Because of all the stuff and Shouma himself she had to walk home, thankful that she lived so close. Shouma trotted ahead of her with long, elegant strides. His tail swaying slowly and his ears bouncing slightly with his movements. Kagome couldn't help but smile as she watched him, he was a beautiful dog. As she was deep in thought, her shoulder bumped against somebody, jolting her slightly, causing her to almost spill the contents of her arms. "Eep! Excuse me." She didn't look up to keep her things from flying all over the place, the deep voice of the person she ran into berated her.
"Oi, watch where you're going, wench!"
Her cheeks stained red at the insult and just as she was about to turn and give the person who insulted her a good tongue lashing, she saw a figure round the corner, a long streak of white hair flashing in her view before disappearing. "What a jerk." She murmered. Shouma looked up at Kagome, waiting for her to continue walking since he was at the end of his leash. She smiled at him and started walking. "We're almost there, boy."
Another two blocks put Kagome and Shouma at the door of her small apartment, glad to be on the bottom floor, she would hate to have to climb up the stairs with all this stuff. With great grace and mostly luck, she managed to stick her key in the door and turn the knob. Flicking on the lights with her hand she dropped her keys into the key dish that rested on the stand just under the light switch. The lights flickered for a moment before illuminating the small single bedroom apartment with most of its space being the living room/kitchen area. She set the bag of toys down, put the food bowl down in the kitchen, the food in the bottom cupboard and walked across the room to place the bed under the window near her recliner. With that done she turned and saw Shouma looking around the place with what looked like mild interest. 'Well, sorry it isn't five star hotel.' She strode over to him and unclipped the leash from his collar and closed the door. "Welcome home, Shouma!"
Author's Note: This is a story plot I have been hosting in my head for many years and have always wanted to do it. With the current success of my in progress story 'Moon Fairy' it has given me the confidence to post this as well. I hope that all my readers of either story will give whatever I write a chance and tell me what you think. Also, don't worry, I won't slack in updating either story, I promise! - Syndril
*Edits* I broke up the paragraphs to hopefully better indicate who is speaking. Though I do have a habit of stating who speaks before or after quotations, I hope this style will make reading my rather large paragraphs better. Be sure to let me know if you like this newer style or my old one better. I aim to please my readers. I thank the reviewer who offered the suggestion. I do admit it is easier to read this way myself. - Syndril