𝐔𝐍𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐅𝐔𝐋 𝐃𝐎𝐆.

it’d be so easy to focus on what she expects him to say. deflection, somewhat dismissive. it’s how he protects himself, she’s come to known, a defense mechanism formed over years upon years of the world telling him and treating him like an unwanted outsider.

“ I appreciate that, Inuyasha…but for both our sakes, I’ll try to spare you from the girl stuff as much as possible. ” the mere thought of talking to him about even half what she talked to Sango about? somewhat mortifying.

a small smile blooms as she ducks, tilting her head to try to fit herself into his line of vision. was he getting….embarrassed?

“ What do you mean? I’ve said things like this before to you. Don’t tell me you thought ’ I want to stay by your side ’ wasn’t mushy? ”

Without meaning to, Inuyasha releases a comical sigh like a held breath. It’s not that he didn’t care, he just couldn’t wrap his head around a lot of it even after she tried explaining herself. This led to frustration on both their parts, and sometimes nothing got fixed. Inuyasha swore sometimes Kagome didn’t actually want to fix half her problems, she just wanted someone to listen to her whine about them. He just didn’t get it.  She calls him out on the fluster, which makes it worse. “Of course not!” crossing his arms, Inuyasha twists his face and nose upward so she can’t make eye contact with him (ha! he was taller!). Despite this, those cheeks remained visibly pink.

“…Wait, what?”

This guy thought Kanji thought he was a freakshow?! That couldn’t be farther from the truth! Kanji knew he was bad at expressing himself, but this was a new level of blunder. Aw, man, fuzzy heaven was getting further and further away! He had to do something to save it, and Ma always told Kanji that honesty was the best policy.

Still, though, the look on the guy’s face was kind of intimidating, almost as if he’d rip Kanji’s arms off and clap for his demise if he got any closer. This was complicated, and the fuse was short. If Kanji moved wrong, he would be denied forever the feel of soft fur between his fingers. No torture would be worse, but admitting to his feelings- that was almost as hard still.

“I don’t think you’re a freak, man. I…” He bites his lip gently and looks down and away. “I think… I think they’re really cute. Y-you got a problem with that?!”

The sudden change in demeanor comes as a surprise. He’d expected more pushiness, but suddenly this guy seemed to have lost all the wind in him. It’s weird, but he won’t question it. He’d heard ‘cute’ before, and he’s pretty sure he hated it more than being called a monster. At least being called a monster, you got left alone. 

Well, some of the time. 

“Yer treatin’ me like some kinda house pet, so what’s the difference? Wanna put me on a leash too?”  he’s not sure where this generosity is coming from, but Inuyasha feels his patience quickly waning. He didn’t have time to be going back and forth with some idiot about why you shouldn’t go around demanding to touch strangers!  

Well, that wasn’t the response he expected, but perhaps it was better this way. At lease someone had some backbone around here. Still, though, his stubborn pride wouldn’t allow him to let that pass, drawing himself up to his full height and crossing his arms over his chest. He’d already gotten in this deep, might as well follow the rabbit hole, see where it takes him.

“Well, shit. So-rry for not recognizin’ stuff that doesn’t exist where I come from, yer Majesty.”

I mean, sure, he’d heard of cat-men and dog-men, but those were just stories made up. And it wasn’t like this guy was a Shadow, he didn’t give off the same vibe- and they were always human before they went wild and turned into monsters anyway, this was something else. Still, something rubbed him the wrong way about the red-garbed warrior.

“An’ don’t gimme any lip, dammit! Lemme just touch yer fuzzy ears, ya bastard!”

His frown deepens, nose scrunching--this guy sure was stupid, wasn’t he? Though a good deal taller than Inuyasha, that didn’t really give him reason to flinch--they were still just a human after all. He adjusts his robe in a pointedly mocking display of nonchalance.  

“What, do humans usually go around treating strangers like freak shows where you come from? Last time I checked, that’s a good way to get yourself a fight.” 

For once he’s not in the mood for a scuffle, especially with a human. It doesn’t seem worth it, and if he got into a fight with every person who’d asked about his ears he’d be fighting entire villages of people. There just wasn’t enough in it for him, and he doubted it’d even be a very good fight. There were certainly humans who could hold their own, but this guy looked like he had a few too many screws loose to really be a threat. 

So his smell was still known to him. There must not have been a lot of time to heal after being hounded by this half-demon for years with his little playgroup. Even masking his smell with this new body was a small decoy to play when they had already recognize his smell already. What cards could he play? His deck was empty, and he only had his one ability currently so he would need to be patient. 

There was no need to pick a fight, especially when Inuyasha’s strength was unknown to him. 

Though perhaps he can trick this mutt into letting his adrenaline covered lips speak information to him. “Really? And here I thought I had acquired a decent looking MODERN human form. I knew of kagome’s venture beyond our world and into hers, but I never bothered with it all. Now, Inuyasha, why is it you have not drawn your trusted sword and slain me a 2nd time? I think we both know why….You don’t have your precious tessaiga…:”

It was a gamble, but simply looking at him was enough to tell that he did not have it. He always had that precious sword at his hip like it was bound to his flesh. Without it, he was a half-demon with subpar strength at best. Before Inuyasha’s eyes, his form was changing once more. This time, much younger to resemble a younger-looking child before him. In the bare cusp of becoming a teen, but similar hair and red-eyes. 

“If you wish to strike me, go ahead. Though recall, this world isn’t our own. No one knows you or I. All they will see is you, a half-demon, bringing pain onto a young boy without knowing why…”

This sensation….even with his eyes closed and only by simply existing can he feel this presence around him. Him. and he could feel old rage enter inside of his heart. “Stop. There is no way he has any of the powers he had prior. His power was a candle compared to him literally slicing you into the underworld…” He thought to himself. His appearance was nothing like it was before, as he was taking up a much younger appearance since his lone ability to shapeshift was changed. His piercing red eyes looked over, seeing the red cloak around the other. 

The former’s sense of superiority was placed on hold, but as they are right now it was clear that any hostility and direction towards violence is lost here. His advantages had been stripped from him, so it was safe to assume that the others were to follow as well. There was only one option now, was to see if his sense of smell was as keen as he could tell. “Ahh, does something bother you? You look like you have seen a ghost…” @hclfbreed

The sneer is almost immediate. Like a dog on the trail of an escaped convict, the moment he caught even a whiff of that familiar scent Inuyasha became a man possessed. He didn’t care if he was in no position to be doing this; there was no forethought in the gait that took him like a constant wind toward it. He could not run as hard or as fast as before, and Inuyasha visibly struggled in pretending he wasn’t out of breath. But the human part of him was full of a learned stamina and animus, and that made it easy enough to ignore.  Upon getting closer, he notes that something was different. The scent...it was diluted somehow, and yet he could finally smell both human and demon running in equal parts. What was that supposed to mean? Last he’d checked, Naraku was supposed to be dead and gone, along with the sacred jewel. He could smell no death like he could with Kikyo’s body. Just what was going on?! He skids to a halt, violently blistered feet and hands healing over the course of minutes. Naraku might look like some scrawny kid, but he couldn’t hide.

There were few things Inuyasha trusted more than his own senses. There were the five usual senses, and then there was his gut. They’d failed him before, sure, but those instances were few and far between. They’d saved his skin much more often than not.

He also trusted Kagome’s word. She wasn’t always right, but he found following it generally led them somewhere. Sometimes she was too damn trusting, but he wouldn’t even call her naive. Her hunches, much as he used to be loathe to admit it, were generally right or at least pointed them in the right direction. Even in a world that wasn’t her own, she’d made it by. That was more than he could say for a lot of humans and even demons born in his time.  

So when she says she’s fine, he takes her at her word. She probably is fine. Doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to see it for himself, though. It’s an excuse to touch her, to look at her, to remind himself what was there. Inuyasha was a man well known for being full to the brim of contradictions, and for some reason she’d always tolerated that. 

There’s a noticeable grimace when it comes to light. Inuyasha kneels to get eye level with it, tracing the scar gently without ever actually touching it. Back then, he couldn’t have cared less who this girl was or if she died so long as it got him what he wanted. Back then and even long after, he’d felt no guilt at all. This wasn’t even his fault--not really--but it still makes him brood looking at it.

“...I don’t think I could forget this one. I was surprised you didn’t die after she took this chunk outta you.” Old lady Kaede was a decent healer, he’d give her that. “It’s a miracle you didn’t die a hundred times over with how reckless you were all the god damned time.” it’s a weak and even tonally soft reproach, meant more so to fill the silence between them than to actually scold her. That was all in the past, anyway, and the same gutsy stubbornness that got her into so much trouble ended up being one of her most endearing traits. 

Kagome takes his hand and makes that face; the frustrating face which caused him to wanna melt and hide and explode all at the same time. But he doesn’t hide, because he’d pictured it in his mind so much at this point that it doesn’t have the same effect that it used to. He didn’t feel like a shadow running from the light anymore--at least, not completely. So Inuyasha squeezes her hand back, diverts his eyes, and sits. He drags her down with him, pressing her back to his chest and gathering her close with their hands still linked in her lap. “Nothin’ to write home about.” it’s not normally something he wanted to talk on, not something that felt necessary. But she wanted to know, she’d asked, and he can’t help but oblige her. 

hclfbreed started following you

Not only had Kanji been transported to the land of one of his favorite books, he was also faced with something undeniable. A thirst, long-neglected during his time here. A hunger that gnawed at his heart, and rent his soul asunder. Silently he approached the ivory-locked man, trying to maintain something of a respectable distance before speaking. He cleared his throat, and found himself unable to meet the man’s eyes.

“Uh, e-excuse me. I uh- I was just… Just wonderin’. Are- are those ears real? Can- can I pet ‘em?”

He was gonna be in Fluffy Heaven.

His eyes are pinned to the stranger as if to say ‘what the fuck do you want’ the moment Kanji begins his approach. He never knew what to expect with humans nowadays, especially with his reputation as a violent half demon being slowly replaced by human babysitter. In that way, humans were usually more insufferable than demons. At least with demons he could expect a fight.

He scrunches his nose in an investigative sniff, not that he really had to. He could tell this guy was human from miles away.  Upon closer inspection, they looked pretty wet behind the ears too--rough mug aside. Couldn’t have been much older than Kagome when they first met...hmph. At the question, said ears perk and then go flat. How many times was this going to happen to him before he finally killed somebody for it? He sighs in annoyed resignation and holds out a clawed hand. 

     “I don’t see it as a job though, Inuyasha. “ always getting tongue tied with these things, he was. she wondered if he’d ever get used to her saying such things out of the blue– probably not. still, she waits for him to find the right words with patience.  ah, he’s grown a lot.

          he holds her hand so delicately, with a softness very few thought he was even capable of and she takes the chance to interlace her fingers with his. 

    “ I just want you to know I’m here for you. If you’re sad or everything just seems like too much…I’m here. “

Once she initiates, he squeezes her hand and focuses on it settled between them rather than making eye contact. 

“I know that. Of course I know that. I don’t need you coddlin’ me like I’m some kinda--” He clears his throat; sometimes the words that fell out first weren’t always the words you wanted or needed to say. Sometimes they were a buffer, a shield, a habit.  “...anyway, thanks. Goes without sayin’ that I’m here too for...er, whatever’s on your mind. Probably not as good for the girl stuff as Sango, but I can try anyway.” Honestly, he’s not sure what he was signing up for; girl stuff could mean anything. But he’s determined, because while Inuyasha knows Kagome would have no issue making friends she’d still need someone to have her back. He wobbles a little between thoughts. 

It’s a complicated situation. Inuyasha is an opportunist, no matter how much potential he has for kindness. Just because his prickly nature is sometimes revealed as a ruse, he’s still someone who doesn’t purposely go out of his way to help people.  It usually has to benefit him in some way, or he has to convince himself that it does.  

goldie is new, and one khalid preens at. nicknames from strangers that sound like scathing statements ?  his favorite.

“  if i was a local,  ”   hums khalid, taking up a much appropriate and much needed thinking pose to show how much thought he’s putting into this,   “  …  i might have you tried for blasphemy, saying stuff like that out loud !  ”     then he shrugs.    “  but who knows.  ”

Inuyasha’s least favorite threats were the passive ones, like teeth bared behind a tight smile. Less for fear and more because they were irksome--a ticking time bomb he had to wait for. He’d already scouted this person as human which made it considerably less of a pain, but even their lot could be a thorn in his side. He scoffs.

“Go ahead, I dare you. I ain’t scared of a little change in scenery, ‘specially if it makes this place look more like the prison it is.”  probably not a statement he should be making, especially since getting into a mess would be more trouble than it was worth. But something about this guy’s expression makes him want to call Claude on the bluff, if that’s what it was. And if it wasn’t, well...he could stand to shake things up a bit. He lifts a hand and levels his gaze at flexing claws. 

🍒  :    how much does my muse value companionship?  do they constantly keep people around them,  or do they prefer to be alone often?  do they have or desire to have many friends?  do they see every meeting as an opportunity to make a new friend?  

     “There’s just one life to live and there’s no time to wait– so let me give your heart a break. “

@hclfbreed​ – lyric s.c. [ give your heart a break ]

“That isn’t...it’s not---” words were failing him now, like they usually did when forced to face certain things. Inuyasha bites the inside of his cheek.