(no subject)

[not_crazy]

Jennifer had had a very weird morning so far.

She woke up to find her apartment, which she kept clean thank you, reeking of an overpowering scent that almost bowled her over. It was sort of a cascade of realizations afterwards that set her off into a panic. As it turned out, waking up with claws and dog ears and accidentally almost ripping her door off it's handle when she tried to open it to leave her place tended to cause that.

The second she saw the ears she knew they looked just like InuYasha's. Like, almost exactly. And that was why the first thing she thought of was to find him. She knew where he usually stayed. It was just a matter of getting there, which was made interesting when she actually felt like she didn't know how her body worked anymore. She started running and then she started really running, faster than she ever intended.

That was when she realized along with the physical changes and the unusual strength, she also had speed added to the mix. Which was great until she was running toward a crosswalk of a busy intersection and didn't feel like she knew how to stop as fast as she started running. Her instincts screamed to jump, so she did, and that was the next thing she learned about.

In her defense, she managed to not scream as she literally soared over the cars. The fall afterwards felt like it was in slow motion almost, and she gently landed on the other side with a grace she didn't know she actually had. All around her she could hear noise, noise, noise, people talking, the sound of horns blaring - it was almost as bad as the smells, honestly, and it all made things worse. As it turned out, it was a pretty good motivator to keep using that speed.

She almost felt like she was getting the hang out if as she stepped foot in the park.

It was where she knew he usually stayed. Jennifer got it in the sense that he explained it and she understood why he chose that spot, but it was only then that she really, actually understood. It was much quieter, the smells were more muted - she had known the park was peaceful in the morning, but she gained a whole new appreciation for it. That didn't mean it was devoid of smells - on the contrary, there definitely were some, and she definitely still couldn't figure any of it out.

Walking further into the park. There was a particularly strong smell as she got further away from the entrance of the park, but she really had no idea what it was. In the end, she came to a stop near the lake, peering around. Her sight seemed sharper, but she still couldn't spot anyone in the vicinity.

"InuYasha?" she called out, loudly, hoping he was nearby. The strong smell was definitely close (and oh god, she almost considered smelling the ground, but she wasn't ready for that yet), one that she felt like she recognized but didn't know why, but she wasn't sure if she wanted to keep following it. She wasn't sure of anything at that moment. "InuYasha!"

Comments

[distrustful]

Normally, there was only one day per month that InuYasha had to put up with this. With having every single one of his senses dulled and muted — of feeling blind, deaf, numb, and impossibly weak. On the bright side, he always knew when it was coming, not only by the way his nerves grated with the approach of the new moon, but also with a simple, easy glance up at the sky.

Until today, at least, when InuYasha had been rudely awoken from his sleep with a heavy shiver of his shoulders, and found his hair cascading over his shoulders in long, black tresses.

"What the hell..."

Finding no easy solution, he'd hidden himself in one of the trees. Something like this could only really be accomplished by magic, and without his senses to help him track the culprit down, InuYasha felt the best immediate action was to wait, and hope the person came back to the scene of the crime.

Who he happened across first was a surprise.

Quickly climbing down the tree with a few neat hops, smaller and lighter than usual, InuYasha landed with both feet on the ground and immediately pointed at Jennifer, eyes wide. "Wh-wha— what the fuck is going on?"

[not_crazy]

So, first thing she noted was the smell she'd been noticing apparently was him, she was smelling him, and everything was getting really, really weird (and awkward, and horrifying). InuYasha was looking particularly not himself when she finally found him. It's something that freaked her out even more, because he looked and really sounded upset, too.

Which meant something was really, really wrong. She wouldn't even entertain the idea that

"You! You need to fix this right now!" she demanded, gesturing in a panicked sort of fashion.

[distrustful]

His cheeks immediately flushed, and he jabbed his finger at Jennifer repeatedly, almost swelling up in indignation. Or panic. Or maybe some amount of both. It was hard to look past the idea that what was happening was impossible, because there's no way that Jennifer would have left herself open to merging her soul with demons, and there was no way that InuYasha could be easily turned human.

No simple explanation for any of it.

"Oi! How am I supposed to know how to fix it? I've never had something like this happen before! You think I want to let my powers go to someone else?" he yelled, his voice rising in pitch. "Did you piss someone off? Are you keeping company with witches?"

[not_crazy]

"Because I look like you and you don't look like you!" she exclaimed, pointing a finger right back at him. Jennifer did not think it was a stretch to assume he might know what was happening. "And no, I don't hang out with witches, what kind of question is that?!"

Except she might actually hang out with witches and not know it, this place being what it was, but that wasn't the point. She certainly hadn't made enemies of anyone, period, including any potential witches that she might know.

"I have dog ears and I am pretty sure I just jumped over a bus! Which okay, was kind of cool, but look at me! What am I supposed to do now? I can't go to my job looking like this!" she exclaimed, again knowing he probably had no answers, but who else was she going to ask? She didn't know anyone else who usually was part whatever she was now.

[distrustful]

"That doesn't mean that I've ever had this happen before! Why would I want to give this to you, anyway — I hate being human, I feel all weak and I can't sense anything," InuYasha retorted, continuing to flail his arms in frustration. Were he capable of it, he'd be sniffing Jennifer's clothes for any hint of unusual herbs or other types of magical tampering.

Unfortunately, his human nose was good for nothing, and asking Jennifer to try seemed ill-advised. Especially when she wanted to do away with everything that normally made InuYasha who he was.

Which was another gripe of his.

"And oi, teme — what's wrong with the ears? You've seen me hide them under a hat before, you can just do that until we figure out how to reverse everything! Clearly it's not impossible to go around looking like that. I manage, don't I?"

[not_crazy]

Jennifer really had no idea how he managed. None at all. Everything was overwhelming to her while he was standing there talking about how little he could sense.

"You're used to being like this! Don't get mad that I'm freaking out here!" she pointed out, trying not to sound upset and failing. She wouldn't break down as much as she kind of wanted to suddenly. He seriously sounded like he had no idea how to fix things, and she was suddenly put in the position she had no idea if it could be fixed. When she spoke again, she sounded a bit more weary. "What are we going to do?"

[distrustful]

When Jennifer suddenly quieted down, InuYasha blinked and began to panic. Just a little bit. Because when women stopped yelling at him before actually arriving at a solution, it usually meant that they were on the verge of crying, and InuYasha was not good at figuring out how to deal with tearful women. At all.

Eyes wide and wary, he stared at Jennifer and deflated a little; if his experiences with Kagome were any indication, yelling at a woman only made the crying situation worse.

"We get you used to the senses first. I can... walk you through them, I guess," he muttered, almost sheepish as he frowned to himself. "I know the difference between hanyou senses and human senses. And then, we use your nose to try and track down whatever was responsible for this."

[not_crazy]

A plan. Jennifer liked plans, a lot. It made her feel like she was in control when it really did not feel like she was in control before.

Though the idea of sniffing someone out...well. She was trying not to imagine being that...dog-like.

"Okay. Okay! What do I do? Er, what can I do, I guess is the better question," she mused, ever the eager student. She would make this a positive somehow even if she had to force it.

[distrustful]

"We should probably head somewhere that isn't as crowded," InuYasha said first, frowning as he glanced over either of his shoulders to check for anyone in the area. As much as people were able to look past his appearance most of the time, taking action was much more likely to draw people's attention.

His jaw suddenly tensed when he realized what getting out of there probably meant. Because he could only run as quickly as a normal human, now.

Jennifer, on the other hand, could run faster than the vehicles driving by.

Face quickly turning red, he begrudgingly met her gaze, wondering if she would come to the same conclusions that he already was.

[not_crazy]

If she was honest, it took her a moment.

A couple of moments of staring, actually, because the whole thing of her being the one that was counted on for something like that. At all. She certainly couldn't usually carry someone, but now.

Well, now she was starting to get why he was turning red. Jennifer, at the very least, knew enough to not start laughing at the idea. There was a little laughing inside, though. A little bit.

(Which she desperately needed, this levity, even for a few moments. Things were still crazy here.)

"So. Piggy back ride?" she offered, which was probably going to be the most bizarre thing she would ever offer anyone who was still technically bigger than her. On the bright side, this certainly would test her new found...stuff.

[distrustful]

He didn't want to agree. After all, InuYasha had two perfectly good feet, and had made plenty of treks on the lone new moons that turned him fully human. More importantly, he wasn't a fan of accepting favors.

They always seemed to come back and bite him in the ass later on.

But InuYasha could see the smile in Jennifer's eyes, mischievous and eager. And the longer they waited, the greater the chance that they would never find the person or force responsible.

So, growling briefly under his breath, InuYasha acquiesced by means of a well-timed snort, then held his arms out to hook over Jennifer's shoulders, curling himself up significantly to keep from dragging along the ground.

[not_crazy]

Jennifer was half expecting to feel some kind of weight, but honestly, it felt no more like she had just put a backpack on, if that. A somewhat annoyed backpack who did not seem to be pleased he was put in the position he was in. She knew better than to tease him at all about it.

"Okay, where to? You know better than I do where somewhere quiet is," she pointed out. She'd look herself, but maybe he had an idea already.

[distrustful]

InuYasha was glad that Jennifer probably couldn't look him straight in the eye, because he could feel his cheeks burning all the way up to the tips of his ears. It was hard to concentrate while riding a woman's back. He hadn't done that since his mother was still alive.

"If you head north, towards the scent of sycamore trees, that area is nice and quiet. Think... dirt. Like wet dirt, with a hint of sweetness. That's what you'll head towards," he instructed quietly. "It's beyond the river, so there are less animals and people around there."

[not_crazy]

Smelling a spot was the most bizarre thing Jennifer had ever been asked to do. She was even going to not even try, except, well, he would know what he could do, right? So if he could do things, she probably could.

Still weird, but she paused, trying to pick up the scent he was describing. She sort of scanned the area until she finally picked it up. It was faint, but unmistakeable.

"Wait, I - I think I smell it," she said, honestly surprised. It's not like she expected he was lying, just - well, it was surprising. Glancing back at him, she spied the blushing and managed to not grin at it. Okay, maybe there was a small one. "Holding on tight?"

[distrustful]

Glowering and turning his head to stare in the other direction, InuYasha huffed lightly. She was enjoying herself, and maybe in the coming days, he would be glad for the fact that there was at least something she liked while forced to be a hanyou.

But for the moment, his pride was bruised.

"Yeah," he muttered softly, hands tightening around her shoulders and clinging to the fabric of her clothing. "I'll hang on, don't worry. Just go as quickly as you want. Sooner we get there, the sooner we can try to figure all of this out."

All things considered, it could have been worse. InuYasha could have been stuck having switched powers with someone who didn't know him at all.

[not_crazy]

Jennifer knew better than to tease him (though, with that scowl, it was a bit hard not to). Whatever was happening was upsetting, and she hoped they could make things right.

"Okay," she nodded, biting her lip as she stared at the direction of the smell. She could do this. She'd practically figured out most of the running portion of what he could do by accident when she was coming to find him. With a determined expression, she started running, the weight on her back not even slightly slowing her down.

And as ridiculous as the pair of them probably looked - if people could even see who was going past them - she found herself enjoying what she could do just a little bit.

It wasn't every day she could do anything remotely close to what she could now.

[distrustful]

While InuYasha had been carried on occasion, it had almost never been with this type of speed and surety. And hell, the few times he'd been transported with such ease usually involved heavy injury and loss of blood, which weren't exactly moments conducive to close observation.

He made a mental note to himself to, perhaps, try and even out his pace with people he liked more. His stomach was making some interesting flips and turns.

By the time they arrived at the quiet spot on the countryside, InuYasha was ready to stumble his way to the ground again, drawing in a deep breath as he peered around. Flopping on the grass, he immediately crossed his legs, then his arms over his chest.

"Quieter, right? It should be easier to see if there are any unusual scents lingering on you now that we're out here. Less smoke and smog in the way."

[not_crazy]

Jennifer noticed the difference immediately. It was almost like she didn't have super hearing or whatever it was he had. What was nice was she wasn't even out of breath, when she was pretty sure she'd probably passed out a bit back.

So, that was a plus.

"Unusual scents?" she asked, sitting down herself. She frowned down at her hands as she stared at her hands, specifically the..claw-like parts of them. So unsettling. "I don't - would I know they're weird when everything is like, really, really weird right now?"

[distrustful]

It was a good question. How was Jennifer supposed to notice if anything was out of place when she was still coping with the sudden changes to every single one of her senses? InuYasha remembered being faced with the same question from Kagome on more than one occasion back in the Sengoku era. And given that InuYasha had no desire or patience to explain every last detail to Kagome, often the task had fallen to him to search for the answer, regardless of how ill-equipped he sometimes was.

He rubbed at his cheek in irritation, drawing a flush to his skin.

"Just... instinct?" he asked, huffing at how thin that suggestion sounded even to him. "If you stop trying to think about it so much, you'll start to understand what the scents are. That you have your own scent, which is different as a hanyou than it was as a human. That I have a scent. You'll find that the scents of things that belong are... spread more broadly than the intruders. The scent of the trees are spread wide and deep, for how long they've been a part of the forest. What I need to know is if there's any person you smell more strongly on yourself. Or if there's the scent of a smell, any kind of herbs or spices on your clothes."

[not_crazy]

Instinct. Jennifer looked a little doubtful that not trying hard would automatically give her the ability to figure it all out. Everything felt like it was hitting her at once, and it honestly made her a little anxious. Which made it even harder to concentrate, which made her anxious because she was starting to feel like she was never going to figure this out and have this fixed.

She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down.

Maybe she could just focus on herself. If she could figure out what was her one scent, she could figure out if there were any more smells on her besides her own. That sort of contained goal made it a little more manageable, given the circumstances. Frowning, she even lifted her arm to her nose for a moment, seeing if that helped. It did make her aware of what smell was normal, or at least she thought it did. Problem was, that seemed like the only strong scent on her.

"I - I don't think I smell anything on me," she said, which almost was disappointing. That seemed like it would have been a really useful clue.

[distrustful]

InuYasha leaned forward, eyes wide as he watched Jennifer start to sniff around herself. He had no idea if his instructions would work; he'd never quite been on her side of things, gaining powers that were completely unfamiliar to him. Even when InuYasha had been learning all of Tessaiga's attacks, it drew upon his youki, his strength of will, until the sword practically felt like an extension of himself.

His shoulders slumped when Jennifer found nothing out of the ordinary.

"Maybe it wasn't someone who you came across, then," he said quietly, frowning to himself as he crossed his arms over his chest and wrinkled his nose. "Maybe it's just the city fucking with us. We should... train you while we're out here on the countryside, then head back. See if there are other people in the same situation. But we need to get you used to this body first, so that you don't hurt anyone when you go in to work."

[not_crazy]

Jennifer didn't like having nebulous 'well it might be the city' answers. That didn't tell her when this was going to stop. Which she barely managed to stop herself from saying, because getting mad at InuYasha would be mean. It wasn't like he was happy with the situation, either.

"Hurt anyone?" she asked, looking a little nervous at that. "I...I guess we can train. What do you want me to do?"

[distrustful]

InuYasha held his tongue on quieting her apprehension — because frankly, there weren't a lot of reassurances he could give. He couldn't promise that she wouldn't lose her mind. Couldn't promise that she wouldn't drop down to a point of acting on complete instinct, and hurting people with her new powers in the process. All he could do was train her so that she could protect herself, keep herself healthy, and therefore keep a hold on her more human sensibilities.

"I'll train you in using your claws to protect yourself," he said, pointing at her hands. "And... train you a little with a sword as well. Nothing too major. But enough to keep you out of trouble. If anyone else is shifting powers in the city, that means there will be chaos. The further out of that you can stay until someone figures out how to fix this, the better."