we used to play outside when we were young and full of life and full of love

[distrustful]

It's been two years since the shikon no tama was wished away from existence. Two years since its malice stopped drawing in demons, since their constant struggle for power started to wane. What had been a relief in the beginning has since worn down to restlessness for InuYasha, who no longer has a stronger motivation to fuel his days than keeping villages safe from minor threats. It'll only be a matter of time, he tells himself, until another large threat will rise again, with demons putting aside their differences in the interest of pooling strength and grabbing power. It'll only be a matter of time before the world truly needs him again, a mantle that he's somehow taken from his late father without ever being told to.

But sometimes time itself feels like an insurmountable barrier, and InuYasha just doesn't care to think too much about it.

Inevitably, he still does. It's that stupid well more than anything that keeps InuYasha clinging to the past, a physical reminder of how he'd once been able to travel through time for the sake of seeing her. Kagome. Even after two years, it still carries the barest of her scent, lingering in the dirt. And even though it's been nothing more than a well for those two years, InuYasha finds himself visiting every third day, leaping to the bottom to feel closer to her. He tells himself that it's just because the scent of her is stronger at the bottom, but every time he makes the leap down, he can feel a skip in his chest. A traitorous vein of hope.

Today, he notices something different halfway down to the bottom. Ears immediately perking and eyes narrowing in suspicion, InuYasha lands softly on the dirt at the bottom of the well, sniffing the air, significantly changed. There's no trace of Kagome on the wind, but the acrid taste reminds him strongly of her world and the speedy vehicles he'd chased after on his few visits. Lowering his weight briefly, InuYasha jumps easily out of the well, perching on the wooden frame as he stares out into the distance, spotting towering buildings ahead and crowds of people milling through the streets.

This isn't where he wanted to end up, but at least it's something new. Dropping to all fours, InuYasha starts to bound for the city, nose tickled by all of the contrasting scents, and he does his best not to sneeze too much as he approaches the roads.

"What the fuck is going on here?" he asks himself, a low growl already settling into his throat.

Comments

[phosphor]

"Oi, oi," Rin grumbles, shoving his hands into his pockets and giving the sword the other guy has a single look before following after, tail making irritated loops behind him.

"There's no way out. Not one anybody's been able to find. And I don't know who's in charge except maybe the mayor. I don't know who the mayor is. Probably some stale old man like mayors usually are." He sighs, before lowering his voice.

"There's you now, to start with. There's all kinds of demons. Every kind you can possibly imagine. Most of them mind their own business, and the ones that don't, they get taken care of. I'm a demon. Well, I'm half, anyway. I'm Okumura Rin. I'm sixteen years old."

[distrustful]

"So we'll find the mayor. Even if you don't know, someone must. How does the mayor rule by his own hand? He can't be human if he's able to do that," InuYasha decides, willing to take his statement even further and suggest that the mayor probably isn't even youkai, at that point. Something capable of pulling him across worlds is more complicated than that. Likely the combination of souls, such as what formed the shikon no tama in the first place.

Small powers adding up to something greater, and completely unpredictable.

Stalling when Rin continues to talk, InuYasha shoots him a gaze, pondering and watchful. He doesn't sniff as obviously now, even though he's still taking stock of Rin's scent. It doesn't smell like any demon he's known in the past, but InuYasha knows that's not saying much.

"What kind of demon was your parent?" he asks curiously, eyes narrowing. He doesn't offer his own name yet; it's the less important train of thought.

[phosphor]

"We can't just go find the mayor, you can't just do something like that," Rin says, goggling a little at the thought. Even he knows better than to just barge in on someone in a place of power like that, and anyway, he's pretty sure the mayor isn't in league with whatever brought them all here. Sighing, he rests his weight on one hip, resting his sword across a relatively narrow pair of young shoulders.

"My dad was Satan," he says, although he ought to know better. Still, with the guy wearing the outfit he's wearing, he probably isn't familiar. Is that kimono made of fur? "Kind of like a king of all kings, of the demons in my world. More like an evil god, actually." He scowls. "But demons at home are all stuck on another plane of existence unless they can possess something in the material world. My mom was an exorcist. She died giving birth to me and my brother."

[distrustful]

"Of course you can. If the door can be knocked down, then you can barge in on the mayor. Just need to know where to look," InuYasha says in reply, letting out a light keh at the notion that they should be swayed by what manners suggest or dictate. Leaders, as far as InuYasha is concerned, put themselves up in that position and acknowledge that they're painting a target on their back in the process. Plain and simple. They can be the target of adoration, or the target of attacks if they're shitty at their job.

Ruffling his hair, InuYasha wrinkles his nose at the city, thoroughly disgruntled and willing to at least concede that now may not be the best time to go looking for the person. Yet. Not when he's got a somewhat interesting, if entirely too sentimental hanyou in his midst.

Finding a patch of grass, he sits down, cross-legged and holding onto the scabbard of Tessaiga as he looks up at Rin.

"Don't know of Satan. And don't believe that a king of demons can exist. Demons look up to power, but that doesn't mean that they're loyal to it. They're too selfish to work that way," InuYasha says with certainty. "But I've never heard of demons needing to possess something to stick around in the human world. I guess you're from a different world than I am."

[phosphor]

"I think the police would have something to say about it, though," Rin grumbles, nearly under his breath. It's clear the guy is putting it off for now, which is relieving. "I don't want to be in prison again. It's not my happy place."

When he mentions that they must not be from the same place, Rin can accept that. Although this guy certainly is more like himself than anything else Rin's met in the city, with those ears perched on his head. He's a little thankful his own are just neatly pointed. They're too much of a draw, though, and despite himself, he leans in with a hand to press the tip between his fingers, gently feeling. They're soft, but they're surprisingly warm, too.

"I don't think they follow him because they look up to him," he says, but it's hard to sound grim when confronted with something so frankly adorable. "I think they do what they have to to avoid being killed by him. At least, that's how Mephisto makes it sound."

[distrustful]

"Then you don't have to follow me. I'll figure it out myself. There isn't a single human prison that can contain me," InuYasha says, his tone matter-of-fact in spite of the boast. The statement isn't entirely accurate; a strong priestess like Kikyou or Kagome could certainly suppress what amount of youkai blood he has in him, but he doesn't feel that level of purity in the city yet. And he's not going to hold his breath.

Frankly, having a miko of that caliber around would be more a comfort to him than a threat.

He doesn't have time to linger on the thought for long before Rin's kneeling before him and reaching out, as all humans seem to do, to touch his ears. It's an annoying tendency, and InuYasha exhales tersely, trying to keep down the natural twitch of his ears through the uncomfortably heightened attention they're being given.

"Then your jiji ain't a king of demons, he's just a dictator for the time being. Someone will topple him before long," InuYasha states, before pausing again, a twitch forming in his brow. "Oi."

[phosphor]

"They won't get the chance, because I'm gonna beat Satan's ass before any of them. Nobody's done it yet, so I'll be the very first to. He won't be sneering and talking shit then," Rin decides, thumbing his own chest. "One day I'll be the strongest exorcist, and I'll take care of him for good." He sniffs, before relaxing his voice again, noticing the guy's impatient expression.

"What, you didn't like that?" Rin asks, taking his hand back, but quickly sinking to almost feline glee, all narrowed eyes and a mouth of sharp teeth. "You didn't like that? Maybe you like tummy rubs more."

[distrustful]

There's something in Rin's statement that comes across much like looking into a mirror, for InuYasha. He can remember his own strength of conviction all those years ago, clinging to the idea of surpassing his father and becoming full youkai because it was the only thing he had. The only thing to keep him motivated from day to day. Rin's words come off as a little more childish, a tad unrealistic. But they're not empty words, InuYasha can tell. Something is driving the kid.

Of course, all speculation vanishes into thin air the moment Rin starts talking in that falsely coy and condescending tone. It's cuter on a girl. (And it's not very cute from a girl to begin with.)

"We're fucking done," he growls, getting to his feet and starting to run towards the city again. He knows better than to draw his sword just yet, and even as he looks for any sign that might tell him where the mayor sits, InuYasha also keeps an eye out for any stores in the area that might sell baseball caps. And might not pay too much attention to him in spite of his bright red robes.

[phosphor]

Holy shit, the guy is fast. It's Rin's first observation, and really, his only one, before he's stood up and chasing after him, arms pumping wildly as he narrows the gap, flames licking in small blue tongues off his his elbows. A combination of the effort and the outrage at being just abandoned like that. Admittedly, he'd been laying it on pretty thick. And this guy apparently had even less tolerance for it than Suguro or Yukio.

"Oi, wait! You can't just leave like that! I'm sorry, okay, I apologize. But someone needs to explain things to you! The train station and your package and money and the police. I really don't want you to have to go through all this stuff without help, if you're new! There's powerful people out there too, powerful exorcists! They almost got me at least twice. You could get hurt! I'd feel guilty!"

[distrustful]

Though InuYasha doesn't stop, he slows down significantly, enough that someone fast like Rin should be able to keep up without too much trouble. This entire place still makes InuYasha feel as though something's itching under his skin, too much of an ever-present threat for him to feel fully comfortable. Already, being in the space of the civilian residences has people looking warily his way; InuYasha simply glares in response.

"What kind of exorcism?" InuYasha asks, turning his gaze back on Rin. He still shows little sign of worry, but the possibility of someone using his demon blood against him does momentarily draw InuYasha's attention.

It's just that some people have been far better at it than others.

"I haven't met anyone in a long time who'd have the power to get closer to purifying me," he clarifies, narrowing his eyes.

[phosphor]

"Purifying?" Rin asks. It isn't that the concept is totally new. Rukia had to purify ghosts with her sword before sending them on to the afterlife, and very much the same had to happen in the few cases at home where Rin had the opportunity to work with them. Then there were the kongou that the Myou'ou Dharani had summoned. True enough that it was Rin himself that Ucchusma had sought out.

But it had been Rin's flame that had done the actual purifying.

"Is it really that complicated?" he asks, frustrated and confused, and wishing a little he had his brother, or even Suguro, around to explain in terms Rin was best able to understand. "There are all kinds of exorcists from all kinds of faiths in this place. I got sealed inside a barrier by some witches. And there's bunches of people who follow Western religions who've managed to screw with me. I don't know about purifying or anything. What's purity mean, anyway? And oi, you haven't even given me your name yet. And you still need someone to get your package for you."

Rin pants over the words he's managed to get out despite the pace Doggy-ears had him keeping up, but he still manages a harried look.

[distrustful]

"Kagome's ojiisan has tried to slap many an ofuda on me and most of them aren't any good," InuYasha says, not earnestly protective of names, and more withholding his own in case he wants to keep this kid from stalking after him at all times. Though it looks like Rin's planning on doing that, anyway. InuYasha lets out a soft snort, slowing down further, until he walks only at a slightly clipped pace by human standards.

He doesn't care to completely reject the idea of someone being able to take him down. Far from it; he knows that he has limits, and even with the help of Tessaiga, someone could still be far stronger. It's his wiles and sense that help InuYasha out more than anything else.

And once, his team.

"Keh," he mutters to himself, forcing his thoughts away. Sniffing again, he rushes towards the strongest smell of fuel, a place where the chattering of people has no end. He assumes that's the train place that Rin's referring to. He remembers Kagome having ridden something similar through town. "I can get my own package. I just need to find the train thing, right? And purifying means getting rid of the demonic energy in you. Clearly. But hanyou like you or me would die if completely purified."

[phosphor]

"Wait," Rin says, ignoring the increasing crowds around them and the strange sideways looks some give them. He's used to the looks. "You're half, too? I've never met anyone else like that. I mean ... I know they're out there, but ... "

Probably not for very long, for most of them. Even Rin, thick as he can be, realizes that the only reason he's still standing is because Shiro had been well-respected as Paladin, and Mephisto's power and influence kept him under protection. And because of Yukio.

A little demon heritage was one thing. But this guy is half. This guy is the same as he is. It's enough to shut up any further comments for the moment.

[distrustful]

"So what if I'm also half? Don't assume things about hanyou because of their parentage," InuYasha replies, though it isn't entirely unkind. More than anything, he doesn't want to set some expectation within Rin that every person of half-demon heritage will be kind or receptive to the idea of hanging out with like kind. "Hanyou don't stick together just because of what they are."

A few wayward stares from passerby causes InuYasha to growl, though not loudly enough for them to hear as they pass. Irritated, he picks up the pace again, shoving his way through people to get to what looks like some type of hub in the distance.

"Is that the train station?"

[phosphor]

"I'm not assuming," Rin retorts, voice poutish and face dejected, looking as exactly young as it is. He folds his arms more tightly over his chest, staring ahead at the train station and ignoring the people around them even more fiercely. "I'm just saying, I've never talked to someone who was like me before, okay? That's all. I have no expectations of you. Actually, I have negative expectations of you. So what?"

He sigh, but picks up the pace nevertheless when Doggy-ears does, shouldering through a small group to stay on his tail.

"That's the train station. Ask the attendant for a package for you, hey'll give it to you. Maybe you've got no use for anything in it, but you should still have it. It's yours and it might be important."

[distrustful]

"Good. You should have negative expectations of anyone with a demon background," InuYasha says, almost harshly as he weaves through the crowd. Rin might be lucky to first stumble across a hanyou allied with humans, but InuYasha knows that most hanyou are forced by circumstance to become tough. Hardy. If they even survive at all. He's the exception to the rule; Jinenji was even more of one, a statistical improbability with the way he refused to even shake a human in a moment of frustration.

Taking another experimental sniff as he draws close to the booth at the center of the station, InuYasha stuffs his hands in his sleeves. He can't imagine that any of the inky and plasticky smells coming from the packages in the booth will be of use to him, but he's willing to give it a shot.

He stares at the person manning the booth, one ear twitching.

"Ah," the man says, starting to attention and peering through thick lenses at InuYasha before turning to the side and picking up one of the thick manila envelopes. "InuYasha, is it? This came in for you this afternoon."

Holding a hand out for the packet, InuYasha frowns, giving it a brief look before glancing back up at the man. "How do you know my name?" demands InuYasha, voice low.

"Well, they said you'd be coming in today—"

Hand reaching for his hilt, InuYasha falls into a slightly more ready stance, shoulders pulled up. "Who's they?"

[phosphor]

Rin nearly freaks when InuYasha reaches for his sword, unaccustomed to being the one dealing with this. Actually, he's usually the other end of the equation, which makes it all even more ridiculous. But once he has a handle on himself again, he reaches out to stay InuYasha with one hand, the other looping around his elbow to try to coax him into following Rin away from the poor sad sucker on the other side of the booth.

"You can't just pull a sword on someone here. This isn't some kind of jidaigeki. Maybe you can demand answers, but you can't do it with the point of a sword surrounded by witnesses."

With worried eyebrows, Rin gives another experimental tug. "Come on. I'll get you something to eat. That guy doesn't know anything about this place, trust me. He's just an hourly wage jerk like half the rest of us. InuYasha, come on."

[distrustful]

The ticketer simply levels InuYasha with an unimpressed expression when InuYasha sinks down slightly to grip his sword. Something about the look makes InuYasha feel like he isn't being taken seriously, and a growl builds in his throat at the thought, nose wrinkling in heavy dislike even as he lets Rin start to tug him away. He remembers now how hard Kagome had always worked to keep InuYasha from drawing too much attention; she never told him fully why, but he thinks it has something to do with this. Something to do with how tame people's expectations are in the future.

Delicate and cowardly, InuYasha thinks.

"Did you see the way he looked at me?" InuYasha asks, tone heavily annoyed as he lifts the envelope with his free hand, neatly ripping the top seam with the point of his fang and propping the envelope open with a peek inside. "...all of this is, what. Paper? And one of those key things."

[phosphor]

"Basically," Rin says. "And a phone. You can use the phone to call people, but I get the impression you should just throw it out," Rin admits, not sounding particularly judgmental about it. He only uses his to call Nuriko and Rukia. Even back at home, the only calls he ever got were, basically, from Shima and sometimes Konekomaru. "Actually, you could probably throw everything out but the key and the money. The key is for your apartment. Like, your house, except it's ... like a tenement. I guess. Whatever. If you don't want the cash, you can just give it to me. I can buy you whatever you need with it."

Rin frowns slightly. He wonders if InuYasha will even speak to him again, after this. He hopes that he does. More importantly, he wonders if the guy will even want to stay in an apartment. He seems a little wary. Not really paranoid, but, you know, the kind of guy who threatens to pull katana on people who know his name. Lifting a hand, he scrubs at his forehead with it, before smoothing his bangs back.

"I can take you to my apartment and let you see what I'm talking about. I've got food there, I can make you some to get you started. Do you wear shoes?" he wonders, staring pointedly at a pair of bare feet on the damp, cold cement.

"You're not some unnecessarily huge guy, so I think mine would fit."

[distrustful]

"I don't need an apartment," InuYasha says firmly, hating the idea of being anchored to one place. The closest that he got to it back home was staying at Kaede's hut now and again, which was convenient for getting out of the wintry cold, but also nice in that he had no real obligation to return. He could visit Kaede, visit Miroku and Sango, but if he really wanted to be alone for a while and be untrackable, that was easy to do without a home to keep up with.

The only reason he can think of for having a place is for Kagome to be comfortable, and without her here, he just can't see the point. It's a hassle. He reaches out for Rin's hand instead, holding it out in front of him before placing the envelope firmly in it.

"You can have my apartment. And my money. I don't need any of it; I can hunt and I've slept outdoors all my life anyway," he says resolutely, still squinting and staring around at all the places around him. He spots a grocery store, giving it a thoughtful look. Ramen would be nice. Then again, buying ramen regularly for himself means keeping track of money.

Not worth it.

"And I don't wear shoes," he adds. "Ruins my balance and my feet are stronger than any human-made shoes, anyway."

[phosphor]

Rin takes the packet, giving it an uncomfortable look, before deciding firmly to keep track of it for InuYasha. He might need it one day, but if he does, it will be for human reasons. It's clear that InuYasha has more in common with Kuro, Rin thinks as an example, than himself.

Rin spent fourteen years of his life as a human. It puts him in the right position to guard that sort of thing for InuYasha.

"I'll keep it for you," he says, pointedly. He doesn't want to just take InuYasha's stuff like some kind of leech who showed up at an opportune time. "All I'm saying is, tonight, I'll save you the trouble of hunting. I'll make you some dinner. I'll answer whatever questions I can. I'm not very smart, but I've been here for a while. And anyway, I want to talk to you. Like I said, I've never met another person sitting in the middle before. Just humans and just demons."

[distrustful]

"I didn't ask you to keep it for me, I told you that you can have it," InuYasha says, adopting Rin's pointed tone. He doesn't want a kid working hard to manage something on InuYasha's behalf. The only thing that makes it okay to pass his property off in the first place is letting Rin reap whatever profit there is to sow from it. "You can sell it, you can rent it to someone else, I don't care. It's yours."

His eyes still trail back to the store they pass, and when the automatic doors slide open for another customer, InuYasha takes a stronger whiff. For the most part, the foods of the future aren't quite as aromatic, but the spices are always an exception. They tickle his nose pleasantly, and InuYasha does his best to school his expression into some semblance of order.

"But if you want to make dinner and talk... do you know how to make instant ramen?" InuYasha asks, tucking his hands back into his sleeves to hide them from the cold.

[phosphor]

He's stubborn. At least twice as stubborn as Rin, who sighs and tucks the envelope awkwardly under his arm to carry it. He gives a relieved twitch of his tail, glad at the very least that InuYasha is not going to cut anybody down, and also, that he's willing to come out of the cold to talk.

Stoic guys like this, he thinks, need taking care of of their own, just like Yukio.

"Instant?" he says, sounding almost offended. "Soup is my specialty, especially rich pork stock. I think I can make you the real deal if you're willing to wait for me to throw it together. I'll make something for you to take with you when you go, too. When it's cold like this, you have to have food in your stomach for energy."

[distrustful]

InuYasha's ears perk at the mention of pork stock, though he tries his best to hammer his enthusiasm down. It's just food. It's just... but it's ramen. And it's soup. And even if he's able to hunt his own food and more, the thought of a home-cooked meal that isn't just thrown together for nourishment has his stomach almost grumbling. He ruffles his hair briefly, not wanting to admit that there's something about this kid that almost has him won over, or at the very least comes across as familiar.

Reminds him a bit of Shippou, in fact. InuYasha can only wonder at how he's managed to survive until now. Maybe he has a protective relative, too, just like Jinenji.

"I knew another hanyou once," InuYasha says, ears twitching, listening around them for anything out of the ordinary. "He enjoyed gardening. I guess your thing is cooking."

[phosphor]

Rin turns pink in the face as he walks them both toward his apartment, doing his best to hide it with an expression of drudgery. The whip in his tail speaks his heart, though. He's both feeling awkward that InuYasha noticed so quickly, and pleased because it's one thing that he's actually confident in.

"My brother says it's my only useful skill. I don't know anything about gardening, but I like to cook. It's something you can do for people to show them you're got them on your mind if you're the kind of person who has trouble using word to do it." Which would be Rin. He's gotten leagues better than he was just a year ago, and he recognizes that. "And if you do it well, people want to eat it in the first place."

[distrustful]

The movement of Rin's tail quickly draws InuYasha's attention. It's not unusual for a demon, partial or otherwise, to have a tail, but InuYasha's eyes are drawn constantly to motion. Fortunately, there's no urge to pounce. More an urge to bat it away, and so InuYasha steps a half step forward, even though it's Rin who needs to lead the way to his place.

InuYasha assumes Rin will tug on his sleeve again if he starts walking them in the wrong direction.

"I never had time for cooking. And I don't know anyone who's very good at it, except..." InuYasha's voice trails off with a frown. Kagome's mother had been good, but the odds of him ever seeing her again are slim to none. "I knew someone, but it's someone I haven't seen in years."

Brow knitting further, InuYasha glances back at Rin. "Say, how often do people arrive here? Can people summon others here?"