Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.
Chapter One- The Curse
Dark Priestess Hinakuna's eyes glowed with anticipation at the tiny object between her thumb and forefinger. She closed her eyes and began to chant. Slowly, the object began to change colors. It went from a sparkling pink to a deep black, and then back to pink.
"Perfect," Hinakuna purred. "The next half-demon that touches this will get quite a surprise." Closing her eyes again, she chanted a quick teleportation spell and the Shikon Jewel shard disappeared.
&&&&
Kagome walked her bike across the mountain path and stopped at the top so that the others could catch up. Below Kagome was a beautiful valley that had gently rolling hills with grassy meadows, and a clear river. Nestled among nature's splendor were the houses of a village. She could just make out some humans farming their fields.
A red and white blur appeared beside her. She didn't have to look to know who it was. Instead, she said, "Beautiful, isn't it?"
"Feh," was the response.
Kagome inwardly sighed. Sometimes, Inuyasha was so infuriating. He never seemed to enjoy some pleasures that lots of humans do. Of course, that's because he was a half-demon. His demon nature was closer to the surface. The only aspect of his human half that showed were his emotions. He was rather sensitive about his dual nature. If only he could see that being half and half wasn't too bad.
She was about to say so when her priestess senses tingled. There was a jewel shard nearby and somewhere on this mountain trail! "I'm sensing a jewel shard nearby."
"Where?" Inuyasha's head whipped around excitingly.
"That way." She pointed to her right.
Excited at finding another shard, the hanyou took off without Kagome. She called after him, but he was too far away to hear her. Getting on her bike, she rode off after him while the others followed on Kirara.
&&&&
Inuyasha sprinted toward the shard. He didn't know how far away the shard was. Only Kagome knew. He was so excited at getting to the shard before Naraku; he took off without the girl.
'I could slow down and wait for the others. I think I will.' Inuyasha slid to a stop and something right in front of him sparkled. Curious, he knealt down for a closer inspection.
"Did you find it?" Kagome's voice called out.
"How can I find it if I can't see it?" the hanyou snapped.
"I see it. It's right in front of you."
Inuyasha looked down and saw that the sparkling was from a jewel shard. He couldn't believe it. He just happened to stop in front of it. Reaching out, his hand closed around the sparkle. He stood up and faced his friends, the shard between his thumb and forefinger.
"Looks like we beat Naraku to this one," he declared, holding the shard up.
Kagome smiled. They had possession of a shard after going without one for a while. As she looked at the shard, she noticed that a black aura surrounded the shard. There was some kind of curse on it! The shard began to glow black as well.
"Inuyasha, get away from it! It's tainted with a curse!"
The glow intensified to the point that the whole scene began to tremble. Inuyasha yelled in pain. He knew without a doubt that he had contracted the curse. The pain was unbearable. It felt like he was being split in two. There was a blinding flash and he lost consciousness.
Chapter Two- Two Inuyashas
Kagome heard Sango call her name and Kirara’s worried cry. She groaned as she sat up and opened her eyes. They were in one of the meadows in the valley. Shippo and Miroku were attending to Inuyasha.
“How did we get down here?” the high school girl asked.
“Kirara,” said Sango.
Suddenly, Kagome gasped, “Inuyasha!” She got up and dashed over to him. She skidded to a stop and stared in shock. Inuyasha’s hair was black! But, it was daylight and the new moon was two weeks away.
‘Did the curse turn him human?’ she wondered.
The now human boy sat up and cradled his head. “Oh, my head hurts,” he groaned. Slowly, he lifted his head and saw Kagome staring at him. “Kagome! I’m so glad you’re all right,” he said in relief.
Inuyasha’s display of emotion took Kagome by surprise. He wouldn’t normally say anything like that. He’d normally not do anything more than a nod.
“Inuyasha, are you all right?” she finally managed to say.
“I feel great! Why?”
“Let me test something. Sit, boy.”
There was a double thud as Inuyasha fell face-down. Kagome frowned. Why did she hear a second body hit the ground? That didn’t make sense.
A growl sounded nearby. Grabbing her bow and an arrow, she got into a preparation pose and turned toward the sound.
A figure in a red kimono rose to his feet. Long silver-white hair flowed down his back with a pair of pointed ears on either side of his head. Purple marks adorned his cheeks while anger was reflected in his gold eyes. Prayer beads circled his neck.
“Inuyasha?” she gasped.
“Pathetic human,” the demon spat. “What’cha do that for!?”
Kagome didn’t answer. She kept looking back and forth. Behind her sat a human Inuyasha and in front of her was a demon Inuyasha. ‘How can there be two Inuyashas?’
Fed up with Kagome’s silence, Demon Inuyasha stormed off toward the mountains. The young priestess wanted to stop him, but felt paralyzed with shock. Instead, she turned to the monk, hoping for an explanation. “Miroku, what happened?”
Miroku stroked his chin and closed his eyes. “Obviously, the shard was cursed. A curse, I believe, targeted towards half-breeds. My guess is that the curse would activate with the first half-breed who finds it.”
“So, Inuyasha got split into two people?” Shippo asked.
“Exactly. His demon half and his human half.”
“How do we break the curse?” Kagome asked.
“I don’t know.”
“Don’t know?”
“That’s great!” exclaimed Human Inuyasha. Everyone looked at him in shock.
“Great?” Miroku echoed.
“I’m finally one race not half of two. I don’t want to go back to being a half-demon.”
Three humans and two demons exchanged looks. Uh-oh.
Chapter Three- Demon Brothers
Demon Inuyasha stormed up to the mountains’ bases and leaped straight up onto a ledge. He turned to look down at the valley below. He snorted. “This place reeks of humans. I can’t stand it.”
&&&&
Sesshomaru was heading up the mountain with his followers in tow. Rin held the reins of Ah-Un while Jakan walked beside the demon lord. The scent of nearby humans was strong to Sesshomaru, but it didn’t bother him-as long as they didn’t bother him. If they attacked, he would strike quickly and not give it a second thought.
The scents of a fox demon and an older human girl reached him and he frowned. Those scents belonged to two of his little brother’s traveling companions. That meant they were close by. The human girl was especially close. Just through the pass up ahead as a matter of fact. As he looked over at it, he saw the red kimono of Inuyasha storm past it. That would explain the human scent he smelled. Inuyasha was constantly in the company of that novice priestess.
“Jakan, you and Rin stay here. I will be back soon.” He proceeded through the pass and looked to his right. Inuyasha was ten feet away, but no sign of the others. The scent of a full-blooded demon hit him like a physical blow, however.
‘Has Inuyasha’s demon blood taken control again?’
Inuyasha turned around and Sesshomaru immediately knew something wasn’t right. Inuyasha didn’t have the ears of a half-demon! What was going on? Before he could say anything, Inuyasha smirked.
“I thought I smelled a human stench. I never dreamed it would be coming from you…brother.”
Sesshomaru didn’t bat an eye, though the remark was shocking and unbelievable. Inuyasha would never speak ill of humans and he would never insult Sesshomaru in such a manner.
“Indeed. I could say the same of you little brother.”
“You gonna take after Father and mate with a human?”
“No. I would leave that job to you.”
“That’s disgusting!”
“Not for a half-demon like you.”
“I’m not a half-demon!”
“Don’t deny yourself, half-demon.”
Inuyasha growled. That was the last straw! He reached for his sword and came up with air. He looked over and saw the sword was gone! It mush be with that human girl! He glanced quickly at Sesshomaru before turning and heading back down to the valley.
Sesshomaru watched him go, confused over his brother’s behavior. Why did he deny he was a half-demon? And where was the Tetsusaiga? It was probably with his little brother’s followers. Curious about the whole situation, Sesshomaru followed. If anything, the demon lord always finished a swordfight Inuyasha started.
Chapter Four- The Demon and the Human
Kagome stared into the crackling fire as the sky darkened. Beside her was Human Inuyasha, who laid on his back and stared up at the stars with a smile. It was a smile that didn’t come as a result of finding a shard and killing a demon. It was a smile that comes from sitting with friends or inner peace.
‘Of course he’s at peace,’ she chided herself. ‘He’s not half-demon anymore. He’s happy being human. Is it wrong to make him give up his happiness in order to make life normal again?’
The growl of an approaching demon reached her ears and she turned to see Demon Inuyasha coming towards them at a fast clip. The demon came to a stop in front of his human side, who sat up with a friendly smile.
“How’s it going?” he asked the demon.
“The Tetsusaiga,” the other growled. “Where is it? Give it to me!”
Kagome then noticed the sheathed sword hanging from the human boy’s waist. She wondered why the sword was with Inuyasha’s human half and not his demon half.
Human Inuyasha looked at the sword before shrugging and holding it out to his demon half. “Here. I don’t plan on fighting anyone.”
Smirking, the dog demon reached out and grasped the sword by its sheath and hilt. Energy crackled from the sword and leaped onto the hand holding it. Inuyasha hissed in pain, dropping the weapon. He stared at his burned palm in disbelief. “Why did my sword reject me!?”
Human Inuyasha shrugged. “Search me.” Kagome, however, quickly realized why. The sword, back the demon graveyard, had rebuffed Sesshomaru because he was a full-blooded demon. Inuyasha, being a half-demon, was able to hold and use it. But now, the half-demon didn’t exist and the sword stayed with the one who could hold it.
Human Inuyasha picked up the sword and put it in his lap as the demon stalked off to a tree to get some sleep. Kagome sighed. Having two Inuyashas was getting to be a headache and she wished there was just one: the half-demon.
‘Talk about being beside yourself,’ she thought.
The sound of approaching footsteps reached the miko’s ears and she turned to see Sesshomaru heading their way. He didn’t seem threatening, yet he looked like he was on a mission.
The boy beside her also noticed Sesshomaru. A grin lit up his face as he called, “Hey, bro! Nice to see you.”
The regal demon stopped in his tracks. He raised an eyebrow as he examined the human. He had Inuyasha’s voice, face, and clothes, but he was human! Also, he seemed happy to see his older brother. That didn’t seem right.
Kagome jumped up and steered Sesshomaru away saying, “Why are you here?”
“I met up with Inuyasha in the mountains and he was all demon. He headed down here and I followed. Only now he’s human.”
“Well, see, we found a shard that had been cursed. The first half-breed to touch it gets split into two pure bloods.”
“I see. So I have two brothers.”
“Yeah. We’re trying to think of a cure.”
“Why? He’s better this way.” Sesshomaru headed toward the mountains to rejoin his followers, leaving an open-mouthed Kagome in his wake.
Chapter Five- The Solution
Demon Inuyasha growled from his tree perch. He was fuming over his inability to wield Tetsusaiga. It was his sword and he alone should use it. But, how could he get it if touching it alone burned his hand?
He looked at his dominant hand and flexed his fingers. The burn had faded some time ago, but the memory was still fresh. It infuriated him that he wouldn’t hold the sword while his weaker half could.
‘Hmm. If I kill my human half, perhaps the sword will obey me,’ he mused. He chuckled softly as he drifted off to sleep.
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Kagome became aware of someone snuggled up against her when she awoke the next morning. She surmised that it must be Shippo. The little fox demon adored her and saw her as a kind of mother figure. Thus, he occasionally slept beside her.
Slowly, she opened her eyes and focused on Shippo and Kirara curled up against each other. They were in front of her and the weight was behind her. Fury and humiliation washed over her. If Miroku was behind her, she was going to let him have it. As she made to look over her shoulder, she saw a lock of black hair that she knew wasn’t hers. It certainly wasn’t Miroku’s. That meant… She fully looked over and saw Inuyasha fast asleep beside her.
Kagome felt her heart beat faster. He was so cute when he’s asleep. Moments like this didn’t happen, so she should savor the moment. She heard someone stir and looked over to see Sango sitting up. She caught Kagome’s eye and smiled softly at her. Kagome knew Sango wouldn’t tell what she saw. It would be a secret.
The demon slayer went to the campfire and coaxed the dying embers back to life before scouting for something to eat.
&&&&
Gradually everyone woke up (but not before Inuyasha did) and sat around eating breakfast. While they ate, they thought about how to break the curse. Kagome couldn’t come up with a solution and was resigned to accepting two Inuyashas when Miroku spoke up.
“You know, we could go to a powerful priest or priestess to undo the spell.”
“Of course!” Kagome exclaimed. “The answer was so obvious!”
“But I don’t want to be a half-demon,” Inuyasha protested. “Doesn’t anyone care what I think?”
Silence descended on the campsite as the others stared at the ground. Kagome knew that Inuyasha was right. He should have a say in this. It was pretty clear that he would prefer to be human and they should respect that.
“You’re right, Inuyasha. If you want to stay human, then we should accept that,” Kagome answered.
“Good,” a voice growled. “because it’ll be easy to kill you, then.”
Human Inuyasha and Kagome whirled around to face the demon half of Inuyasha. He stood in a position to attack and there was intent to murder in his eyes.
Kagome interposed herself between murderer and victim. “You can’t kill him. He’s your other half.”
“Wrong. I’m complete without him. Now, stand aside human.”
“No! I won’t let you kill him.”
“Kagome,” Human Inuyasha said firmly. “Do what he says. I don’t want you getting hurt because of me.”
“But…”
“No. I love you Kagome. Please move.”
Sighing, she did so and the human boy stepped forward so that she was behind him. She bit her lip. Two halves of one person fighting each other. One was intent on killing while the other one cared only for her safety. She didn’t want them to fight yet she felt powerless to stop them.
Human Inuyasha gazed coolly at his demon self. “Why do you want to kill me?”
“I want my sword. My guess is that if I kill you, then the sword will obey me.” Flexing his claws, the demon lunged, hand outstretched.
Kagome watched in horror. The moment seemed to go in slow-motion for her. The demon was inching closer and closer to his human counterpart, the claws moving toward the throat. The human was standing there, his feet posed to make a last second dodge. The prayer beads around his neck swayed slightly…
Her eyes widened and she gasped. ‘Wait. That’s it!’ Out loud she cried with all her heart and soul, “SIT!!!”
The force of her command hit the demon first and he started to fall forward. The human also reacted and fell too. The two halves’ heads connected and there was a flash of light. The light was so bright that everyone had to look away.
When the flash subsided, Kagome was the first to look. She saw one individual face-down on the ground. The silver hair caught her eye. ‘There’s the demon,’ she thought. ‘but where’s the human?’ Her eyes scanned the area frantically until twitching from the demon prompted her to look at him.
Poking out of the hair was a pair of dog ears! They were the most beautiful dog ears Kagome had ever seen because they meant that Inuyasha was a half-demon again! She rushed over to him just as he was sitting up. He gave her his patent glare.
“What was that for?” he demanded.
She didn’t answer as she fell on her knees. She gazed at him as tears welled up in her eyes. “You’re back,” she said softly. She then flung her arms around his neck and cried.
Inuyasha sat there, stiff and frozen. He never knew what to do whenever Kagome cried or hugged him. Cautiously, he put his arms around her waist and said, “Don’t cry. I’m fine.”
“Are you?” she asked, her voice slightly muffled by his hair.
“Yeah. Why?”
Kagome pulled back and looked at him quizzically. “Don’t you remember?”
Inuyasha’s face scrunched up in concentration. Slowly, his thoughtful look was replaced with a face pale with horror. “Oh, man. I do remember,” he said faintly. He recalled holding the shard (which Kagome now had), the pain of the curse, and the memories of two people.
The two of them stood up as the others came up to them and welcome their half-demon friend back. He received a pat on the back from Miroku, a shoulder squeeze from Sango, and another hug from Kagome.
“Inuyasha, I’m glad you’re back,” Shippo said.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. Your human half was a wuss.”
Thump. A clenched fist connected with the kitsune’s head.
“Waah! Kagome!”
“Inuyasha!” Kagome reproached, getting a cringe from the silver-haired boy.
“SIT!”
