Ch.11
“Down to the Last Minute”

Day 7 (Around noon)

The group and Sesshomaru woke early the next morning. Apparently, Plentiku had noticed a strip of leather around the homeless bear demon’s claw in their last battle. It was their only lead, so they decided to hunt this bear down. Sesshomaru split the group up into two search parties. He sent Kagome with Sango, Miroku and Kirara, as he knew if Kagome traveled with Plentiku and Inuyasha, there would be a fight. Sesshomaru decided to take the ‘girls’ and Kiachi. The set time to meet was just before the sun went down. Everything planned; the groups went their different ways.

Inuyasha walked near his brother, who stared strangely at him. Inuyasha noticed just what his older brother was staring at.

“Quit staring at my breasts!” Inuyasha yelled, trying to cover them by crossing his arms.

“They’re mine and I shall stare at them if I please.” Sesshomaru warned.

Plentiku stood between them. “They’re MINE and no one is going to look at them until I get them back! Got it?”

The brothers grunted and turned their heads away. Inuyasha decided it was best to walk with Plentiku and let Sesshomaru lead; Kiachi asleep on the youkai’s shoulder. As they continued on, Inuyasha noticed something different about his body. He stopped.

“Hey, Plentiku.”

“Yeah?”

Inuyasha paused for a moment, not knowing how to phrase the question. “Did you…uh…do something with my hair?”

Plentiku giggled. She put her hands on her hips and flipped the ponytail back femininely.

“Do you like it?”

“NO, I DON’T!” Inuyasha shouted, “And don’t make me stand like that! People are gonna think…stuff. Get my hands off of my hips!”

“Look who’s talking!” Plentiku shot back. “If you slump me over any more I’ll get a hunchback! Stand me up straight!”

“I can’t! These things are heavy!”

Sesshomaru groaned and rolled his eyes. Things had to be going better with Kagome and the others!

Kirara searched from the sky, while the humans searched from the ground. Kagome stopped when she sensed jewel shards.

“Oh, no. Not again.”

Just as suspected, Koga appeared. He held Shippo by the tail and thrust him in Kagome’s face.

“Does this belong to you?” He asked.

“Shippo!” Kagome exclaimed.

“What, did you people forget I existed!” Shippo shouted angrily. “I wake up to find everybody left!”

“We are so sorry Shippo!” Sango apologized, taking the enraged kitsune from Koga.

“Thanks so much, Koga.” Kagome said happily. “I’d stay and chat, but we’re in a real hurry. See, we’re trying to find this bear demon and…”

“Bear demon?” Koga interrupted. “I just battled one of those free-loading bags of fur.”

“You did? Which way did it go?”

Koga smirked and got down on one knee. “Hop on and I’ll show ya.” He said with a grin.

Kagome groaned. He can’t just point me in the direction it went. No! He has to take me there.

“Fine. Sango and Miroku can follow us on Kirara. Shippo, go get Inuyasha and Plentiku.”

“Why?” Shippo inquired. “So you can forget me again?”

“Please Shippo! I promise I won’t forget you again.” Kagome begged.

Shippo sighed and used his fox magic ‘horse’. He flew away opposite from where Koga was headed.

“Kirara!” Sango called.

Kirara slowly descended to the ground. Miroku and Sango jumped on.

“Follow Koga and hurry!” Sango ordered.

Kirara roared and took off. Do this, Kirara! Do that, Kirara! Sheesh, I’d rather be licking myself about now.

“Inuyasha, stand up straight. Plentiku, take his hair out of that ridiculous ponytail. Now, both of you, be quiet.” Sesshomaru shouted orders to both of the complaining hanyous.

Both reluctantly did what they were told. Plentiku, however, wasn’t done starting trouble.

“Ya know,” she whispered to Inuyasha. “All of his assertiveness is getting me all frisky! And when I say ‘me’, I mean you.”

“WHAT? You get those sick thoughts out of my mind right now!”

“I feel you rising to the occasion…”

“CUT IT OUT!”

Sesshomaru had had enough. He tore out Tokijin and struck. When the dust cleared, a burnt strip of grass lay between the shocked hanyous. Sesshomaru stood between them.

“You walk over there.” He ordered, pointing to Inuyasha to walk to the right. “And you walk over there.” He sent Plentiku to the left. “One more word and I shall decapitate both of you. Understand?”

Both nodded. As they continued on, a tiny shout was heard. Inuyasha was the first to stop and turn to see what was going on. Plentiku stopped next. Finally, Sesshomaru turned to see what had made that squeaky noise. It was Shippo. The little fox landed and the horse turned back into a toy. Shippo was about to deliver his message when he caught sight of Inuyasha.

“Inu…yasha?” Shippo stammered.

“Who else would it be?” Inuyasha hissed.

“Wow!” Shippo turned to Plentiku. “You’re much prettier then Kagome!”

“HA!” Plentiku pointed to Inuyasha and laughed. “IN…YOUR…FACE!”

Inuyasha glared at Shippo. “Shut-up! Just tell me what you’re doing here.”

“Oh, yeah. Koga found the bear demon you’re apparently looking for. ---Oh, hi Sesshomaru!--- Umm, anyway, Koga took Kagome on his back and…”

“HE DID WHAT?”

”Let me finish! He took Kagome on his back to show her where the demon is. Sango and Miroku went with him.”

Inuyasha was enraged now. “WHEN I GET BACK IN MY OWN BODY, HE IS GOING DOWN!”

Plentiku went to make a nasty comment, but Inuyasha was wise to her. “Don’t you say a word!”

That said, Inuyasha grabbed Shippo by the tail and took off.

“I DON’T RUN LIKE THAT!” Plentiku called after him.

Sesshomaru ran past her in pursuit. Plentiku shrugged and joined them.

Later that evening (about 6:30 p.m.)

The moon was a quarter of the way covered by the sun. Koga landed in a forest. Drops of moonlight rained down between the trees. Kagome climbed off his back. Koga pointed to the ground.

“See the blood? This trail ought to lead us right to it. Say, Kagome? Why do you want to find this bear anyway?”

“It has the thing we need to get Inuyasha back in his own body.”

“What? You mean to tell me I just helped the mutt-face?”

“No. Think of it as a favor to me.” Kagome said quickly.

“Ah, right. Anything for you, my love.”

“Yeah.” Kagome said uneasily. “Let’s just get that bear.”

“I think we took a wrong turn.” Miroku informed, struggling to see his surroundings.

“If Koga didn’t go so fast, Kirara would have been able to follow him without a problem.”

“Well, I see Inuyasha and Plentiku.” Miroku pointed out.

“Let’s go Kirara!” Sango called out.

Inuyasha ceased running and looked up. Plentiku wasn’t expecting the short stop and ran into him, knocking both of them over.

“What the hell did you stop for?” Plentiku growled.

“It’s Sango and Miroku.”

Shippo squirmed out from under Inuyasha. “Finally! We don’t have to run anymore!”

“You didn’t run anywhere! I carried you all this way!”

Kirara landed and Miroku jumped off.

“Inuyasha, we can’t…”

Plentiku pointed to the body next to her.

“Oh, right. I forgot.” Miroku turned to Inuyasha. “We can’t find Koga or Kagome. We lost them.”

Inuyasha looked up at the moon. It was half gone now.

“WE HAVE TO FIND THEM!” Inuyasha raged.

“Hey guys.” Everyone turned to look at Plentiku. “Where’d Sesshomaru go?”

Sesshomaru tore through the forest, his gaze shifting to the moon every now and then. Kiachi finally woke up.

“Whoa! What’s the hurry?”

“I can smell that bear demon. He’s close. I’ll gut him like a fish.”

“Yikes! Sesshomaru, you’re not acting like yourself.”

“Look, rat, I’m tired, I’m stressed and really, Really horny. You do the math.”

“Look! There it is!” Koga pointed out.

“Yeah, but where’s Sango and Miroku?” Kagome inquired.

“Who cares? Is that the demon you want or not?”

“Uh…” Kagome squinted her eyes to get a closer look. It had a scar on its muzzle from when Plentiku attacked it. Another good look and the griffin hide came into view. “Yes! That’s the one!”

“I’m on it!” Koga was ready to attack when Kagome stopped him.

“Koga, wait! You don’t have to kill it! Just get the tie off of it.”

Koga smiled and stroked Kagome’s face. “Darling, I love you, but now is not the time to go all ‘animal activist’ on me.”

Koga went to strike the bear, but a blur of white struck the beast first.

While Inuyasha and Plentiku dashed through the forest, Sango, Miroku and Shippo rode Kirara above them. The moon was rapidly disappearing. Only one third of its silvery light shone. The scent of the demon and Kagome drew closer.

“Hey! I was gonna hit it!” Koga shouted angrily at Sesshomaru.

The Inu youkai paid absolutely no attention to the whiny wolf. Sesshomaru struck again with his whip. The end of the whip wrapped tightly around the demon’s paw. The tie dangled tantalizingly from the demon’s claw. Kirara, who flew above, just happened to see it.

“Look! There they are!” Sango pointed out.

Kirara dove head first out of the sky, despite her passenger’s screams. Just before they hit the ground, Kirara pulled back up. Shippo fell off of her back. He grabbed the string to keep from hitting the ground. He found himself face to face with the outraged bear. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his top.

“Fox Magic! Spinning Top!”

The huge top fooled the bear and Shippo made off with the tie. The deed done, Sesshomaru pulled the bear out from under the top and flung it across the forest.

“Great job, Shippo!” Kagome praised.

“Yeah.” Koga agreed glumly. “Now, where’s mutt-face?”

Sango and Miroku looked at each other.

“They were right below us a moment ago, weren’t they?” Sango asked.

“Yes, but where did they go, now?” Miroku added.

Sesshomaru was pretty sick and tired of these distractions. He whipped out Tokijin and struck. Everyone ducked. All the trees within a 3 mile radius fell. Inuyasha and Plentiku came into view.

“There they are!” Shippo cheered.

“WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!” Inuyasha yelled at his brother.

“You could of killed us!” Plentiku added roughly.

Only one quarter of the moon showed. Nothing but a tiny sliver. The group had exactly 3 minutes and 25 seconds.

“Where’s the bracelets?” Kagome asked.

Inuyasha looked at Plentiku.

“I gave them to you, remember?”

“Me?” Plentiku asked.

“Yes! You put them in your pocket!”

After thinking a moment, Plentiku nodded. “Oh, yeah!”

She reached in. Her face turned white.

“What’s wrong?” Sango asked eagerly, knowing the look on her face was not one of joy.

Plentiku’s hand reemerged; the pocket came out with it. There was a huge hole in the pocket. Inuyasha’s jaw dropped.

“You…you lost them?” He stuttered.

“No, no, no.” Plentiku reassured. She bent down and pulled the pantleg away from her ankles. The two bracelets fell out. Everyone let out a sigh. Inuyasha grabbed the bracelets before anything else happened to them.

“Give me the tie.”

Shippo handed Inuyasha the griffin hide tie. Inuyasha carefully tied the bracelets together. He went to pull the knot tight, when the tie snapped in two. Inuyasha let out a squeaky gasp.

“No.” He whispered. “...it broke”

Everyone stood there in silence. Sesshomaru tried to keep a cool head. Plentiku looked as if she were going to faint.

“Idiot!” She growled.

“NO!” Inuyasha cried out, throwing the bracelets to the ground. “NO, NO, NO!” He stomped them into the dirt. “HORSE SHIT!”

The moon was now completely gone. Plentiku threw her head back and let out an eardrum shattering scream.

“YOU CLUMSY OAF! IDIOT! MORON! JACKASS! I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU! I COULD SCRATCH YOUR EYES OUT FOR THIS, YOU DUMB FEMALE!”

“Hey, don’t yell at me for this! It was your fault, Inuyasha!”

Kagome and Koga looked at each other for a moment. “Did he just call her ‘Inuyasha’?” Kagome asked.

“That’s what I heard.”

Inuyasha pulled his silvery hair back away from his eyes.

“How could it be my fault!”

“You broke the tie!” Plentiku shouted, swishing her tail back and forth in an agitated manner.

Sesshomaru tilted his head curiously. “Plentiku.” He called.

Plentiku looked at Sesshomaru. His golden eyes met her brown ones. Kagome smiled.

“Inuyasha! Sit, boy!”

Inuyasha’s body was roughly pulled into the dirt.

“It worked!” Miroku exclaimed.

“They’re back to normal!” Sango chimed in.

 "I don't get it...they didn't switch bodies just now...they just...I dunno, turned normal again!" Shippo shrugged.

 "Yeah, what's with that?" Plentiku questioned.

Suddenly, a light illuminated from the bracelets, and the ghost of an old woman appeared before them.

 "A pair of bracelets; cheap and gawdy
Force thy souls to exchange bodies

All thy ties of friends will sever
As thy souls be trapped forever

A wrinkle of time to correct this error
In your travels; face trials and terrors

With all that work upon your shelf
The jokes on you! Become yourself!" She ended with a cackle before disappearing.

"What does that mean?" Sango asked.

"It seems that this entire thing was a hoax. Plentiku and Inuyasha would have become themselves in time." Miroku deduced.

 "Ya mean it was all just a joke?" Shippo whined.

"Looks like." Miroku chuckled. "What a sense of humor!"

Unfazed by the news, Kagome gleefully turned to Koga.

“Thank you so much, Koga! We couldn’t have done it without you!” Much to the wolf demon’s surprise, Kagome leaned over and kissed his cheek. Koga blushed.

“Hey, anytime!”

Inuyasha looked up from the dirt. “Why, you…”

He jumped up and struck, but Koga was already in the air.

“Don't worry, Inuyasha! If your life is on the line, I'll be there to rescue you! Imagine what Kagome would give me if I saved your pathetic life! Until next time, my sweet Kagome!” That said, the okami youkai was gone.

Kiachi leapt into Plentiku’s arms. He whispered something in her ear.

“He did WHAT?” She roared.

Inuyasha rubbed the dirt from his face and glared at Kagome.

“You know, there were other ways of testing this!”

“I know!” Kagome said with a smile. “I’m just glad you’re back!”

“Whatever.”

Inuyasha turned around when Plentiku tapped his shoulder. Before he could ask what she wanted, she punched him in the gut.

“That’s for being mean to Kiachi!”

Then, she slapped Inuyasha in the face, throwing him off balance.

“AND THAT’S FOR TOUCHING MY BREASTS YOU SICK PERVERT!”

Kagome glared at Inuyasha.

“Inuyasha, sit! Sit, sit, sit, sit, sit!”

While Inuyasha was being brutally punished for his exploring hands, Plentiku felt something watching her. She turned to Sesshomaru and extender her hand.

“Hey, you! Did ya miss me--AH!” She was unable to finish her sentence as Sesshomaru snatched her by the arm and took off with great speed towards the dark part of the forest. Plentiku turned and called to the others before disappearing from view. "Bye, guys! It was nice meeting you!"

Kagome pulled on Inuyasha's sleeve. “Come on. Let’s head back.”

“Wait.” Inuyasha grabbed the bracelets from the dirt. He threw them in the air and, with Tetsusaiga, destroyed them once and for all. “There.” He said contently.

Sango, Miroku and Shippo were already on Kirara’s back. Inuyasha knelt down so that Kagome may climb on. Once she was secure, they were off.

Kiachi stayed in a tree away from the two lovebirds. He leaned back and shut his eyes.

“We may be here a while.”

72 hours later…

Sesshomaru staggered over to Jaken after bringing Plentiku home.

“My Lord! Where were you?”

Sesshomaru plopped himself by a tree. “Getting fire wood.” He sighed.

Jaken looked around. “But, I don’t see any fire wood.”

Sesshomaru yawned and closed his eyes. “Couldn’t find any.”

“You…you were gone for a week and you couldn’t find any fire wood...in a forest? My Lord?”

Sesshomaru was sound asleep.

Back at the well, Inuyasha was pretty glad to have his body back. He sighed and stretched. He touched his chest. When he didn’t feel anything, he looked down and sighed.

“Damn.”

Koga was relaxed. He cherished his kiss from his precious Kagome. Ginta and Hakaku were happy to see their leader happy.

“Well, I’m one up on mutt-face for Kagome’s affections!” Koga boasted. “Yep. Kagome and I are meant to be.”

“Yeah.” Ginta agreed. “The most Kagome’s ever done with Inuyasha is see his…”

“Shut-up, you big mouth!” Hakaku hissed.

“See his what?” Koga asked.

The two brothers looked at each other. They grinned at their leader.

“Nothing, Koga.”

Plentiku hitched a ride on Sesshomaru’s back for the trek home. A day later, both she and Kiachi were captured by the villagers and thrown in jail. Kiachi peeked out the cell window.

“The coast is clear, Plentiku. You want me to chew through the bars so we can escape?” He whispered.

Plentiku sighed and leaned back against the cell wall.

“Ah, we might as well stay a few days and pay our debt to society. Besides, I’m so tired. Who knew Sesshomaru missed me so much?”

The End