Coyote Tricks: Fox Child

Well, Foxfur is still too busy to beta my latest posts. So please excuse any grammar mistakes. I’ll get her to review the whole story at once and then repost the chapters to fix them later. This chapter is rated PG for language.

Leader of the Pack

Kit paced around the common room of the house like a caged animal, which in a sense he was. Yuriko had done her share of pacing too but now she sat quietly in the center of the room concentrating her energies on healing herself. Kit should be doing the same, the sword wound he had received had closed but he needed to concentrate his spirit energies to healing it properly. If he didn’t do so soon it could have serious consequences. But he found he couldn’t sit still long enough.

Hanako was part of his pack, his kit, his responsibility, and his family! They have no right! Kit threw himself against the door for the hundredth time being repelled yet again by the spirit wards in place. And again a twinge of pain came from his unhealed wounds. If he kept abusing them like this and expending energy on pacing and attacking the wards he would eventually exhaust his spirit energy reserves and collapse but he couldn’t stop. The Abbot and shrine maidens had stopped trying to come in to feed and treat them. Kit at attacked the door every time they tried to open it.

A corner of his mind thought how ironic his friend Caitlyn back at Spirit Peak would have found all this. The playboy Coyote of Spirit Peak fretting and pacing like a mother hen over a family that wasn’t even his by blood. A few years ago Kit would have laughed with Kat at the thought but he had underestimated just how strongly the canine instincts were. He never anticipated just how hard he had fallen in love first with Shippo and then when that love was rejected even harder for Yuriko and Hanako. And now Hanako was in the hands of that fiend that had killed his adopted father. He had to do something!

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Outside the house the door flared with energy again as the wards repelled some assault from inside. Inuyasha turned to the others.
“This could get messy” he said then he handed Hanako to Kagome. “Take her up to the door, don’t open it but remove the seal and step back here.”
Kagome nodded.
It only took a moment after the seal was removed for Kit and Yuriko’s canine senses to pick up the kit’s scent. The door crashed open.
“Hanako!”
“My Baby!”
“Mama! Kit!”
The trio embraced and tears flowed freely.

Kagome watched the scene, smiled and hugged Shippo tighter. She started to step forward but Inuyasha’s hand fell on her arm.
“Not yet,” he said quietly.
Kagome confused stepped back again.

After a moment, Kit seemed to realize they were there and started coming toward them.
“Let me handle this,” Inuyasha whispered to Kagome. “Don’t interfere.”
‘Now if I can just avoid a challenge,’ Inuyasha thought to himself.
Inuyasha stepped forward and confronted Kit.
“You had no right to seal us in like that” Kit said menace in his voice.
“Feh, look at yourself, you can barely stand much less fight Oni,” Inuyasha said disdainfully. “If I hadn’t locked you up you would have killed yourself following us.”

“I don’t understand,” Kagome said to Shippo. “Inuyasha argued against locking them up, why is he saying he did it now? And why are they fighting, we brought Hanako back safely?”
“It’s an alpha male thing,” Shippo said. “Kit is alpha to Hanako and Inuyasha is sort of alpha to us, at least to other dogs. Because Kit has never submitted his pack to Inuyasha, keeping him going after Hanako became a territory thing. They both have to find a way to resolve it without losing face.”
“And if they don’t?”
“They’ll settle it by fighting.”
Kagome looked back at the two males. Both their ears were flattened against their heads and Kit’s tail was bottle brushed. She could almost see the lightning bolts flashing between them.
‘They do look like two dogs squaring off to fight.’

“Hanako is my responsibility!”
“Yeah, and if we had dragged you along you would have been in the way! You would have gotten her and us killed!”
Deep down Kit knew this was correct but he was not going to back down. And yet he didn’t want to fight Inuyasha either.
‘How do I get out of this?’ Kit thought.
“You don’t know that,” Kit said.
“It was obvious to anyone with half a brain, you flea bag!”
“Oh yeah! Well your mother wears army boots!”
Inuyasha looked confused for a moment having no idea what an arr me boot was.
“What would you know about my mother? You are just a gijin dog.”
“That’s Coyote, you idiot!”
“Mutt!”
“Mongrel!”
“Carrion-eater!”
“Carrion!”
“Tickfarm!”
“Leg Humper!”
“Pup!”
“Herbivore!”
“What?” Inuyasha said then realizing he had lost a point jumped in with, “Mutt!” Just to realize he had lost another point by repeating.
“Lapdog!”
“Cur!”
“Stray!”
“Tail-sniffer!”
“Heinz 57!”
Inuyasha was flustered by the unknown insults and realized he was losing this game but it had managed to prevent the challenge from turning into a fight. If he could only find a way out of this game, he might not have to hurt Kit after all.

Kagome watched as they momentarily stopped the name calling and remained locked staring at each other, growls on their lips. Then Inuyasha said almost casually to Kit, “You’re bleeding again.” Kit broke the staring contest to look down at his t-shirt rapidly turning red with his blood.

“Inuyasha! Kit!” Kagome with Yuriko coming up with her rushed to Kit’s side. “You two should be ashamed fighting with Kit hurt like this.”
They started manhandling the injured coyote back towards the house.
“We’ll settle this later, Inuyasha!” Kit said.
Inuyasha said nothing, glad that Kagome had chosen to ignore him just as he knew she would. That Kit let himself be led off meant that he too was glad to find a way out. The promised settlement would be nonviolent.

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Inside the house two shrine maidens were tending to the unconscious Miroku. The healer’s examination showed no great wounds other than what appeared to be bumps on the Monkey Monk’s head. The prognosis was to wait for a day to see if he would wake on his own.
The maidens had put him to bed and were just checking him one more time before retiring.
“That’s odd,” one of them said, “I’ve never seen a monkey with horns before.”
“It must be part of his magic,” the other said and they thought nothing more of it.

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Stardreamer: I’d like to thank my good friend Kat (not the Kat referenced in the story although she did contribute a little to that character’s inspiration) for suggested insults.
Foxfur: I had more fun watching you write this chapter, walking back and forth muttering dog insults to yourself. And what’s up with Miroku?
Stardreamer: You’ll find out. ::BAM!:: Ouch! (Grumpily whispers) Lifemates!
Foxfur: What was that? (Tapping hammer in hand)
Stardreamer: (Nervously) I said check back for the next chapter, Lifemates.