Cats and Dogs
Riquo the Gypsy Dancer
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warmth over anything the light touched. Riquo turned her face towards it in her
sleep, smiling to herself. As she started to awaken from her slumber, she rose up
from the ground and stretched, oblivious to the arm tightening around her
waist. She got on her knees and flexed
her claws, kneading into the ground beneath her when—
“OOOOOWWWWWW!!!!!”
Riquo’s
eyes flew open and she flung herself backwards, startled. She looked down and
saw Inuyasha with his back against the trunk of the tree, rubbing his abdomen.
She grabbed his hand and moved it away, seeing several tiny holes in his shirt
and little trickles of blood coming from the holes.
Her
eyes widened, “Inuyasha! What happened to you……ooohhh…”
He
glared at her, “Do your senses only work when you’re wide awake?! You almost
scratched my guts out!”
She
gave him her best, innocent kitten smile and sidled up to his side, rubbing his
stomach.
“I’m
sorry Inuyasha,” she purred in his ear, “want me to kiss it and make it
better?”
Inuyasha
twitched his ear, trying to ignore what she was doing to him. She laid her hand
down on his thigh and nuzzled his cheek. He gulped,
knowing what she was about to do next. Riquo stroked his silky hair, slowly
going up. Inuyasha stiffened when she started scratching his ears. He bit his
lip and clenched his fist but he just couldn’t help but purr loudly. She
laughed and scratcheme mme more, leaning her head on his chest so she could
listen to him purr. Riquo had no intention of stopping until a realization hit
her.
“It’s
morning.”
“Good
job.”
She
swatted at his arm, “The others are probably awake and looking for us!”
Inuyasha
shrugged and got up, pulling her up with him, “So…you’re freaking out why?”
“Well….”
She looked down at her foot, tracing something into the grass. Inuyasha looked
at her confused until it dawned on him.
“You
don’t want them to know do you?”
“No!
I mean…it’s just….I..”
He
shushed her and encircled her in his arms, “They don’t have to know yet. We aneedneed to keep our minds focused on the battle at hand, not on our friend’s love
lives.” She nodded and breathed in his scent. He smelled really good—
“RIQUO!!!!!!font-family:"Times New Roman"'> INUYASHA!!!!”
Riquo
and Inuyasha simultaneously jumped away from each other, looking to where the
shouts came from. Kouga came running through the darkness of the trees with
Kagome in his arms. Above them Miroku and Sango were on Kilala’s back,
beginning to descend. Kagome jumped down from Kouga’s grasp and ran towards
Riquo, hugging her.
“Oh Riquo! I was so worried about you! Why didn’t you tell
any of us you were going off?” tears started to form in Kagome’s eyes as she
tightened her hold on Riquo’s body. Riquo patted her back and then looked over
her shoulder at Kouga, winking a thank you. Kouga nodded in response. Kagome
then broke the hug, pushing Riquo away and stomping towards Inuyasha.
“And you! What are you doing?! You could have told someone where you were going
too!”
Riquo
linked the back of Kagome’s arms with hers just in case she decided to take a
swing at Inuyasha’s face. Kagome tugged on her arms, panting from the exertion
she put on her throat.
“Kagome
calm down!” Riquo laughed, “me and Inuyasha just came
out here to talk. We ’t w’t want to fight anymore so we just talked it out and
now we’re ok. Nothing to get THIS excited about!”
Kagome
relaxed, “I know, I know, it’s just that I'm worried something’s going to
happen to you again! It would tear me apart if something happened to you again
and we never got to catch up or do all the fun things we used to do or…or,”
Kagome didn’t get to finish her sentence as she burst in to tears again. Riquo
smiled and patted her friend’s back.
“You
underestimate me girly. I am a demon, and a powerful one at that, to bto be
conceited or anything,” she paused as Kagome started to giggle, “ don’t think
that just because you saw me get hurt twice that I’m totally defenseless, I can
still kick ass,” she giggled with Kagome and punched knuckles with Kagome
saying, “Krooky?”
Kagome
smiled and wiped her tears with her other hand, “Krooky.”
Miroku
walked up to them, confused along with everyone else, “Might I ask what this,
‘krooky’ word is?”
Kagome
smiled at Riquo, “When we were in my time, we came up with that word somehow,
and now it’s just kind of a greeting thing between us,” she laughed out loud,
“Riquo used to beat the crap out of anybody who tried to copy us.”
She
grinned at Riquo as she laughed. Kagome started to laugh again when suddenly
she went briefly catatonic. Riquo got serious when she sensed this and grabbed
her hand, squeezing it. Inuyasha put his hand on her shoulder before she could
say anything, “It’s ok she senses a shard.”
Riquo’s
mouth formed a small ‘o’ and she waited as Kagome’s face contorted into a
mixture of facial expressions. Sango walked up to her and stood by her side,
“She’s trying to pinpoint where the shard is. When we first started searching,
Kagome could only tell where the general direc of of the shard was until she
got within a hundred feet of it. Now she can almost pinpoint its location
exactly.”
Kagome
sighed as she relaxed, “I found it, it’s north of here
near a village. It’s kind of far so we might want to get going.”
They
all nodded, and got headed in that direction. Sango and Miroku on Kilala,
Sango’s Hiraikotsu blocking Miroku’s reach of her butt. Kagome and Inuyasha
decided to ride on Kilala as well so they could see Kouga and Riquo run at
their full speed.
Kouga
grinned evilly, “Hey Riquo! I’ll race you to the village!”
Riquo
snickered, “Alright wolf boy! But don’t think that those shards will save your
butt against me!”
Kilala
levitated into the air and Kouga and Riquo knelt before an imaginary line.
Kagome yelled from up top, “Ready, set, GO!”
Riquo
and Kouga both shot off at incredible speed, Kouga looking like a twister and
Riquo looking like a red ki blast. Kilala sped off into the air as well so they
could see they could see the race. Riquo and Kouga were neck and neck until
Riquo kicked it into high gear and practically flew ahead. Kouga sped up a
little but was still behind Riquo. Riquo saw the village ahead and skidded to a
stop at the edge, turning around and waiting for the others. Kouga showed up
seconds l, be, bending over with his hands on his knees panting.
Riquo
grinned, “What’s the matter Kouga? Did those shards slip out of your legs?”
Before
he could snap a response at her, Kilala landed next to them and the others
jumped off. Riquo smiled and decided to take her chance and explain.
“Cheetahs
are the fastest animals in the world. Every part of my body can move at amazing
speed. Those shards can't make you faster than me because you’re body wasn’t
made to handle it.”
Kouga
panted some more, “Oh well ::pant:: I’ll get you
::pant:: one day ::pant::”
Riquo
walked over and patted his back, “Sure you will.”
The
group laughed and was about to walk into the village when Inuyasha, Kouga and
Riquo stopped and sniffed thr. Tr. The only sign that they were listening for
something was Inuyasha’s ear twitch. Kagome, Sango and Miroku looked around,
when Kagome felt the shard coming up from the groun:p><:p>
“It’s
underground!” she yelled. The ground started to shake violently. Kouga snatched
Kagome and Kilala got Miroku and Sango away. Riquo and Inuyasha both jumped
away just as the ground exploded into chunks of dirt. Out
from the ground came an enormous mole demon. As it stood to its full
height, Kagome narrowed her eyes and then snapped her fingers triumphantly
She
turned to the rest of them, “The shard is in the middle of its spine.”
Inuyasha
nodded and turned to Sango and Miroku, “What do you say we let Riquo get this
one? This is her chance to prove herself as a fighter,” Sango and Miroku
shrugged and walked withga aga and Kagome to sit far away.
Inuyasha
turned to Riquo smirking, “You think you can handle this, I mean he is pretty
big.”
mal>“Pff,
this is nothing. Sit down and enjoy the show.” Inuyasha laughed and went to
join the others.
Riquo
cracked her knuckles, “Alrighty big boy, show me what you—“
The
mole roared and swung its arm at her. Riquo dodged it running to her left.
“Hmm,
feisty are we?” She jumped into the air and twisted herself into a tornado. The
tornado collided with the mole demon. The mole demon hunched over slightly and
then its body began to vibrate and an earthquake shook the ground. Tirt
irt
beneath Riquo’s tornado fell apart and the tornado disappeared with Riquo
jumping to the ground on the side. The mole shook the ground again and Riquo
ran towards it, not having any trouble on the distorted ground.
“You’re
only making this easier on me! I can run on unstable terrain!”
Kouga
leaned over and whispered into Kagome’s ear, “That’s something else she can do
that I can't. I can run on uneven ground, but not on shaky ground. She can do
both.” Kagome nodded her head, staring at Riquo.
Riquo
ducked as a hunk of earth flew over her, narrowly missing her head.
twisted them into circles, her arms going faster and faster. Seconds after, the
wrappings that were on her forearms fell to ground, creating a whip. She held
onto each one by an end. She jumped into the air and moved above the mole. She
raised both of her arms and screamed slashing down in an ‘x.’
stood still for a few moments, then fell into four pieces. Riquo stood, wrappiner cer cloths around her arms again.
Kagome
and Sango stood and ran over to her, babbling compliments left and right.
Inuyasha, Miroku and Kouga walked oafteafter them. Inuyasha was about to say
something when they heard shouts coming from behind them. They tu aro around
and saw villagers running out of they’re houses towards them, shouting.
“Look!
The strangers have defeated the monster!”
“Thank
you!”
"Times New Roman"'>“Praise God! We have been saved!”
One
villager, apparently they’re leader, stepped forward and shouted, “Halt! My
name is Hakuno. Tell us your names, strangers, so that we may remember your act
of bravery for years to come.”
When
they all introduced themselves, one villager stepped forward, “Riquo?
<&nbs
“Um,
I—I don’t go by that name anymore—“
“It
is her!” the crowd of people started talking all at once about their good
fortune and such.
Hakuno
shouted for silence and walked towards Riquo. He looked her over and smiled.
“Indeed
she is Riquo the gypsy dancer.”
“No,
no you don’t understand—“
“Come!”
Hakuno said, “we will hold a feast at my palace in
your honor. Everyone to my palace! We must prepare for tonight! There shall be
drinking, dancing and women for everyone!”
The
men of the village shouted and began walking towards the palace with Hakuno
leading them. Inuyasha spun Riquo around, grasping her arms tightly, “What do
they mean gypsy dancer, since when are you a whore?! Or is that just one more
thing about you we get to find out about you at the last minute?!”
Riquo
stared at him at him, hurt apparent in her eyes. Then her pride got the best of
her and she narrowed her eyes and pu him him away from her, “Don’t you dare
call me a whore! I don’t know what part of
a whore! I was born a dancer and that’s not something you can just give up so
easily!”
“Well
then what did you mean when you said you didn’t go by Riquo the gypsy dancer
anymore?” Sango asked.
was a name villagers started giving me whenever I would dance in the streets. I
wander, so whenever I went to a village I would dance for the villagers and get
free room and food out of it.”
Kagome
smiled and hugged her. Then she started walking with her and the others leaving
Inuyasha behind, “Don’t mind him Riquo, he doesn’t understand the heart of a
dancer like I do.”
Riquo
smiled at her and then craned her neck to look at Inuyasha. She gave him a
hurt, sorrowful look and he really regretted what he had said. He resisted the
urge to snatch her up and hold her forever. Suddenly she stopped and turned
towards him. He thought she was going to say something to him but instead she
whispered something to Kagome. Kagome smacked her head and ran past him to the
mole parts. She went to the center of the four pieces and picked up the sacred
shard.
“I
can’t believe we almost forgot this,” she laughed and walked next to Kouga as
he wrapped his arm around her waist, “some shard hunters we are.”
Riquo
walked with Sango towards the palace and Miroku walked over to Inuyasha, “You
know Inuyasha, you really should try to be nicer to Lady Riquo. After all, she
is a friendly, FEMALE demon and you two could hit it off and maybe—“
A
large knot formed Miroku’s head, “Spare me, monk, I am in no mood for your
antics.”
“Whatever
you say Inuyasha, just making a suggestion.”
“Keh.”
>
Inuyasha
and Miroku walked in silence. Inuyasha looked up at the darkening sky and swore
under his breath. He could feel himself getting weaker. Miroku glanced over InuyInuyasha, “You might want to try and relax tonight, Inuyasha. You’ll be in your
human form anyway so you might as well have a little fun.”
Inuyasha
narrowed his eyes at the monk, “Let me guess, you’re looking forward to the
‘women’ part of this party, right?”
Miroku
gave him that patented perverted smile and Inuyasha groaned. This was going to
be a long night.
~*~*~
When
they arrived into the palace, they were each shown to their individual rooms.
Much to her dismay, Riquo was led up a staircase by some women and into a room
with different articles of clothing and makeup.
Kagome
was in her room going through several kimonos that she had to choose from for
the party. Suddenly her door opened and slammed shut. Kagome whirled around
only to run into Kouga’s chest.
“Kouga!
You scared me to death!” he chuckled and hugged her close to him. They stayed
like that for awhile until she turned around in his arms and looked at the
kimonos on the bed.
“So
which one do you think would look good on me?”
“I
don’t know. How about you try them on and I’ll tell you which one looks best.”
Kagome
gulped, “Try—try them on? In front of you?”
Kouga
outright laughed at that and kissed her nose. He whispered, “What’s the matter?
Afraid I might like what I see?”
Kagome
smiled, “No I’m afraid you might get horny and make us late for the party. I
haven't seen Riquo dance in years and I am not going to miss this! So there.”
She gave him a quick kiss on the lips, grabbed a random kimono and went behind
the changing curtain. Kouga smiled shaking his head and sat down on her bed.
Inuyasha
paced back and forth in his room. His hair was black, his fangs and nails gone
and his temper skyrocketing every minute. He needed Riquo really bad on this
night. To hold her and kiss her and to apologize to her. He stopped in the
middle of the floor. I need to tell her.
He was about to start pacing again when there was a loud knock on his door.
“It’s
open.”
Sango
walked in wearing a pink kimono with black flowers silhouetted across it. She
stood in the open door with concern written on her face, “Are you alright
Inuyasha? I can hear you pacing in my room.”
Inuyasha
sighed, “I’m just irritated that’s all.”
“Riquo?” Inuyasha
winced. Am I that obvious? “Sort of,
plus it’s the new moon.”
Sango
nodded, “I see.”
Miroku
popped his head in behind her, “The party is starting downstairs, you two,” he
turned to Sango, “Sango you look beautiful. Will you allow me to escort you?”
“As
long as you keep your hands away from my ass, sure why not.”
“You
have no faith in me Lady Sango.”
“No,
you just have a bad reputation.”
“Touché,
my dear.”
Inuyasha
walked in silence behind them. He was anxious tonight, but the new moon had
absolutely nothing to do with it.
of fun! I can't wait to write the next chapter! Next we get to see Riquo dance!
What will Inuyasha think? -aNiMe
HeLLcat