InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Shades of Gray ❯ defeated ( Chapter 13 )

 

 

~<>~ Shades of Gray ~<>~

 

 

~<>~ Chapter 13 ~<>~ Defeated

 

 

 

The feeling of something digging into her right arm awoke Kagome from her fragile sleep, her body barely reacting to the stimuli. Her right arm twitched once, her mind instantly igniting to escape the prodding but darkness stole away her sight and her ability to retaliate. She had struggled with consciousness for the better part of the day, from what her body told her, or at least that's how it felt. In reality, she had only been awake for about three hours but to the battered woman, it was a montage of all the hours she had previously lived. Her lungs burned with each puff of oxygen, her bruised esophagus restricting the amount exhaled; Kagome was nearly sure this is what it felt like to die, or worse, to be resurrected in the face of the devil.

 

Though seriously handicapped, Kagome thanked the beings above for her temporary blindness. The skin around her eye sockets was so sore and swollen; Kagome couldn't see anything but the temptation of blackness, luring her into a turbulent sleep that was always interrupted moments after giving in. Had she been able to see, however, she was positive that she would have killed the man that did this to her, or would have died trying. Every time she heard his boisterous and overly cocky voice, her fingers would twitch with the primal need to settle this blood debt; he drew her blood, she owed him as much in return. She ignored, however, how fast her heart was racing in her chest. She refused to admit that he terrified her, because admitting such would grant him supreme power over her. She refused to admit that she was scared senseless. She tried to tell herself that he was nothing to be afraid of; she tried to remind herself that if she had been quicker or stronger that she could have taken Bankotsu on, he was no deity that needed to be feared. Like a man, he could be wounded just as grievously and it was her solemn vow that he would. She refused to believe that he could do this to her again. There would be no second chance; as soon as she could move her muscles, as soon as she had the ability to escape, she would. And God be damned, she would never come here again.

 

`How could he do this to me? After everything we've been through…after three long years, how could he do this to me? I stood by him through everything, I trusted him; I gave him everything I could ever give. All he's taught me from the beginning with the Master takes care of you, that Master will never harm you; but he did. What he did…this broke all the codes in the world of dominant/subordinate.' Kagome willed down the tears that rose in her eyes, the sore muscles screaming in agony at the constricting tension. She was betrayed by the one man of whom she had given her life, her soul, and her freedom to. It wasn't supposed to be like this. When they began two years ago it was strange, but never been a bad way. Back then he would never have done this to her regardless of who she looked at or whom she slept with. The furthest his abuse had ever gone was with his knuckles cracking against her jaw in the midst of the throes of passion, and even to that, she knew he had felt horrible. There `games' had always been on the dark side, and could always have been considered abusive. But it was a game they played together, it was a game she consented to. This destroyed everything.

 

The game was over, the magic and mystery laid barren in front of her, exposed and just as naked as she was. Something inside of her gave at that moment of despondency and disillusion, feeling somewhat like a child who found out that they have been lied to their entire life. Far from innocent as that mentioned babe, it was something else that was stolen away from Kagome in that moment; maybe, just maybe, it was her heart.

 

The metal that had pierced her right arm retracted and for a moment, it seemed as if the room held its breath. Then the voices started again, three of them, all male, shouting over each other with words that Kagome could barely understand. It took her five minutes to realize that they were speaking Japanese, something she was nearly sure at that moment her brain cannot process. Her thoughts were sluggish in English at the best, God forbid attempting to translate. Suddenly, like the approaching eye of a storm, a wave of euphoria passed over the girl, sweeping through her veins with a vengeance. `A sedative,' she noted wryly, `why is he trying to mask the pain now? Didn't he want me to suffer?'

 

The thirst for knowledge overruled the pain and the agony of her brain, winning the war again ensuing blackness. Grasping onto the tail feathers of reality, Kagome picked up the end of the boys conversation and held on for a moment longer.

 

“Just…fix her. I do not care what you need to do. I cannot have her looking like that. There would be no question to what happened to her while under my care, and I cannot have that.”

 

Kagome knew that voice; there was no question about it. That stupid bastard apparently hadn't thought before using her like a punching bag. Now he was sweating the truth leaking out to society, maybe fearing that someone would figure out his sick fetish. Though all men had their secrets, this would have been enough to destroy Bankotsu's career. `Good,' Kagome sneered with all the vehemence in the world. After what he did to her the bastard deserved to burn. Kagome would have laughed at this if she had the strength. Sadly enough, she didn't.

 

“You should have considered that before using her blood to paint your carpet. What the hell has gotten into you?”

 

The voice that spoke before was a mystery to her, his identity eluding her at the moment. But for Bankotsu to have him in his personal quarters at the club, it was either one of his elite friends, or family. Kagome would have put money on the latter. The Koizumi family was vast and nearly a statuesque empire; so rooted into the ground, the world would fall before the Koizumi family did. Bankotsu was the forerunner of the family, their mouth and seemingly mascot, the golden child who followed in their father's footsteps, ready to take down at the Taisho territory. Behind Bankotsu however, was an entire legion of men just as devious. It seemed the Kagome however that none of them ever would taste the success that Bankotsu had.

 

Two brothers played wingmen at Bankotsu's side for a period in time, two of whom Kagome had never met. His oldest brother Renkotsu was weaseling somewhere around Europe, attempting to build himself an empire out of dreams and paper mâche. From what Kagome understood Renkotsu had been Bankotsu's right hand man for nearly five years on his journey through success. Bankotsu had canned him however after certain libel was spread about his older brother and his addiction to cocaine. Kagome were sure the brothers had never spoken since then. The youngest brother, Mukotsu, was in jail for attempting to make pipe bombs in his garage and distributing them to unruly minors. Bankotsu had already proclaimed the brother removed from the family, however Kagome knew different. Mukotsu had worked for Bankotsu for nearly two years before his confinement, partaking in particularly devious courses in nature, personally seeing to the deletion of Bankotsu's enemies.

 

Bankotsu's cousins were another branch of his strength. Kyotsu and Ginkotsu were twin brothers of whom god felt deserved to be nearly six foot six in height, and packed enough body weight to smush a small horse. The brothers were the meat of the security firm that ran Bankotsu's business. Considered one of the most popular security firms in the world, the two were led to glory by Bankotsu's endorsement. The cousin, a brother to the twins that followed after next was Suikotsu. Suikotsu was a well known and highly dignified pediatrician who resided in the Manhattan area with his wife and two children. Though Suikotsu was probably one of the most normal of all of the Koizumi family, he still had his flaws. He worked under the table for Bankotsu many times over patching up those that Bankotsu broke. His bedside manner left much to be desired, Kagome could just see the unrelenting issues, and mental quirks that left little to question over his sanity, which tore at his professional conscience.

 

And then there was Jakotsu, her beloved Jackie boy. Kagome wasn't quite sure what went wrong with this one to make him turn from that masculine path that all the other males in the family followed, but she loved him for his uniqueness. He was the only person outside of her Master who knew of her night lifestyle and her masochistic fetish. Calling him to come her aid seem like a relative possibilities for the battered girl, however having her fingers function on a key pad was completely out of the question. For now she would have to go this alone; besides for the other two strangers who were in the room with her attacker.

 

The feeling of fingers being dragged through her wet hair was the next thing that registered with her, instantly setting her body to red alert. Bankotsu was not a man known for his reserve, or his compassion to those wounded. Kagome wondered, as she sat a virtual prisoner to the invisible chains; if Bankotsu even felt remorse for what he had done to her. Something made her doubt it. What scared her more however, was the fact that now two men of whom she didn't know were sitting within proximity of her body and she was defenseless to stop them for whatever their wicked intent was. Someone had sedated her already, was that to help her or to keep her body preoccupied while they had their way with her? At that moment, Kagome prayed that maybe Bankotsu had grown a conscience.

 

`Wait a minute, wet hair? When did my hair get wet?' she thought after the fact, `when did Bankotsu allow me to bathe?' A throaty groan slipped from her lips as the hand continued to pet her head, trying to ask the person to register their identity. The hand paused, and for a moment she feared it was Bankotsu. Would he assume that she would continue to serve him after this? Would he have the audacity to continue dominating her as if nothing had happened; if that was true than the businessman was quite the idiot?

 

Bankotsu spoke again, yet the hand in her hair continued to weed through her thick sodden strands without pause. “I just want to make sure she ain't gonna wander off when I drop down to the club tonight. The last thing I need is for this to leak to the media.” `Ha,' Kagome thought gloomily, `I was right about the bastard. He's scared. Good.' At least it offered her some type of reconciliation. She wasn't the only one scared for her life.

 

The hand in her hair paused and a voice echoed from directly next to her. She was wrong; it hadn't been Bankotsu daring to touch her, and relief seemed to seep through her body. The voice however was fimiliar and yet not, all at the same time. The callousness of his words tore away the happy persona that normally graced the image that Kagome conjured. “Because we all know that you losing face, Bank, would be the worst thing to ever happen to you. Jesus Christ, Bankotsu, you nearly killed her, and all you can think about is yourself. Do you even give a damn?”

 

There was a long pause and Kagome could just about visualize Bankotsu's blank stare. As the atmosphere grew thick with hostility, the hand in her hair was removed and the weight on the bed shifted as the man next to her stood. Kagome didn't need to see the clouds to know the dangerous storm that was brewing over their head.

 

“Fuck both of you; I'm taking her home with me. I don't know what the hell is wrong with both of you, but she needs to be with someone right now is actually going to give a damn about her. And obviously that shit ain't happening here.”

 

And the yelling started again, more boisterous and grating then before.

 

“The hell you will!”

 

“She needs to be near a doctor! I ain't going down to Jersey to check on this dumb cunt. The bitch stays here.”

 

“She is mine, Damnit! She will stay where I say she will, and she isn't leaving until those marks are healed! I don't even know why the hell you're here; this doesn't concern you.”

 

“You better believe this shit concerns me; she is my friend, little more than I can say for either of you two dumb fucks.” Clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth sarcasm wove its way into his words. “What's the matter Bankotsu, are you scared? Are you finally signed are realizing your actions have the reactions, because I'm sure you missed that lesson in science. Are you scared that the woman beater will become the prison bitch? Are you afraid that someone will beat you just as bad, that someone will make you bleed more?”

 

“Shut your fuckin' mouth, Jakotsu!”

 

Jakotsu, that rough and callous voice belonged to that sweet and innocent pansy? Kagome felt a thousand different emotions all at once; she was glad to have someone there who she knew would stand up for her, but was horrified that he had to take the stand against his own blood. Now was only her safety on the line, but that of a friend as well. Yet there was something in his voice, something that made him sound threatening, something that made him sound like a man. For the three years she knew Jakotsu, she had never heard him speak outside of his flamboyant mannerisms, but now, in this situation, he sounded as masculine as a rodeo cowboy.

 

“Oh, that's a grown up answer, Bankotsu. Tell me, you still wearing pampers under those pants? Can't you think of anything more elaborate to tell me, or could it possibly be that what I'm saying is the truth?”

There was a loud noise, a deep growl from Bankotsu and so many vulgar exchanges, Kagome's head spun.

 

“Will you two shut the fuck up? Jacky, back to your corner by the bitch, Bank, calm the fuck down!”

 

Kagome felt her eyebrow twitch. Who the hell was this third person and what gave him the right to call her the bitch. This was Bankotsu's fault, how dare he prejudge her based off the lies of that asshole.

 

“Now listen up, because I'm going home. I gave her an injection of cortisone for the inflammation. I'm leaving you three syringes with doses for her. Don't fuck it up, you can't kill her if you use them all but hell, don't be stupid.”

 

Kagome heard Bankotsu mutter something as the rationalization crossed her mind that Bankotsu would never give her the shot. He wanted her to suffer obviously, so why would he try to help heal her? Was it for his precious reputation? Did he regret what he did? Kagome disregarded the last though, he would never regret this; he wouldn't give a rat's ass.

 

“Shut up, shit head, and listen to me. I gave her the one shot, and I gave her a high dose about an hour ago of Percocet. That will keep her completely sedated for the time being, so you don't have to worry. But she needs to drink water, Bankotsu; you can't let her dehydrate unless you want to explain the corpse to the cops.”

 

Kagome could hear the sneer in his voice. “There's always the furnace.”

 

And with that, the homosexual jumped back into attack mode. Walking around the bed, the man got into the face of his boisterous cousin. “You even joke about that one more time, Bankotsu, and I'll call the fuckin' police myself!” Avoiding a blow by the larger of the two men, who tried to swat Jakotsu back, he jabbed Bankotsu in the chest. “Aren't you satisfied? You beat the hell out of her. You win. What more do you want; world domination, your own spin off? What more could you possibly get from tormenting this poor woman?”

 

The `doctor' smacked the back of Jakotsu's head and sighed loudly. “Honestly, if you two bitches are done?”

 

Bankotsu threw his older cousin a glower. “Hardly.”

 

Suikotsu leveled the man a hard glower. “Look, you little piss ant, you fucked up and it so happens that you managed to fuck up with my brother's little friend. Now, you got two choices, the way I see it; you can do what I tell you and make her better, or you can make her dead. If you off her just know that there's enough evidence against you to gain a conviction in a New York minute. I'd let the homo take the whore home and get her out of your hair. You tell me you got the bitch on a leash, and then let her stray for now. Tighten it only when you feel you need to. She's going to get better, whether you want her to or not if you let her live, and you can't detain her forever, so just back the off and let Jacky take her to his place.”

 

Kagome's heart skipped a beat. If Jakotsu could get her out of this Hell, then she would be home free. Oberon and Bankotsu be damned, she would never come back until she was ready to take him down. A lapse of dreariness washed over her like a wave against the sands of time. She could feel herself being pulled back into the darkness that was so foreboding, so desolate, and she fought against it, refocusing her attention on keeping herself awake.

 

Slowly crossing his arms Jakotsu tapped his sneaker clad foot against the floor, obviously not appreciating the way the conversation was going. “Maybe you don't understand the severity of what he did to her Suikotsu. You're the damned doctor, open up your fucking eyes! Do you really think she's gonna come back here after this? Maybe you hadn't noticed but this girl got some brains. Something tells me she's done with you.”

 

Bankotsu's glare hardened as he seemed to stand a few inches taller, his entire back straightening to hold his true height and formidability in the eyes of his cousin. “She will come back to me, she belongs to me. And I know my pet would never dare disobey me.”

 

Scratching his neck, Jakotsu cleared his throat. “It seems to me Bankotsu that you're little bit behind under recent updates. See honey, this dude with a beard passed this wonderful little document entitled the emancipation proclamation. What that means for you Love, is that you're not allowed to owned slaves, you chauvinistic bastard.”

 

Towering over the old spoken little man, Bankotsu sneered. “You tell that to her; she's the one assigned herself to me. I own her whether you like that or not; technically I did nothing more than use my property as how I saw fit. You whack a dog with a newspaper when he pisses on your rug, don't you? I was merely disciplining my pet.”

 

Jakotsu stared aghast at his cousin, his brain unable to comprehend anything that lingered in that sick fetish infested head of his cousin. Sputtering, Jakotsu tried to reason with the sadist. “She's not some fucking dog, Bankotsu. This is a person, someone you'll go to jail for hurting like this. Whether you like it or not, your contract,” he air quoted the contract, sarcasm beginning to drone in his voice, “is null and void. Besides, what are you doing to do, take her to court? Then everyone will know that you're some sick demented freak with a leather fetish that enjoys making girls bleed. I'm sure that would be awesome for your reputation.”

 

Bankotsu's eyes narrowed as the temptation to set Jakotsu on his ass grew in his mind. If the boy kept pushing him, family blood be damned, Bankotsu would have no problem rearranging his face. Knowing that there was really only one way from this situation, he nearly spit out, “fine, take the bitch with you. Take her back to Fucking Never Never Land with you and Michael, and then you can wait on the cunt.” Taking a threatening step towards Jakotsu, his voice deepened. “But I swear to god, if anyone links her to me, I'm coming after you. The next thing you'll see is who's buried at the bottom of the Hudson River, on a one stop way with a pair of complimentary cement shoes. You understand?”

 

Jakotsu simply raised an eyebrow.

 

“I want that Bitch back here next week on Friday. We have things we need to discuss.”

 

Jakotsu nodded vigorously, his eyes still narrowed. “I'll make sure that that's the first thing I tell her. And I'll bet she'll jump right on that for you.”

 

“I don't need your God damn sarcasm, you Fucking Homo! You want to be sarcastic, you do that with your little gay friends; you don't do it with me! Now I asked you a fucking question; do you understand? The answer is simple, it's just one word.”

 

All of Jakotsu's life, he had known that Bankotsu was off his rocker and could be quite threatening when he wished to be. But staring into the devil's face and hearing his command, Jakotsu realized just how scary this man could truly be. Had he not been trying to make a point at that current moment, a part of him would have been completely terrified. Instead, he turned his terror to hate; he had to hate his cousin at this moment, for Kagome's sake. “I got you, Bank.”

 

Bankotsu nearly smacked his younger cousin. He had to defy him; Bankotsu wasn't good at handling that. “Get her out of my sight, she's soiling my bed.”

 

Without being told twice, Jakotsu walked around the bed and put both his hands under Kagome's body. Glancing down into her slightly opened eyes, sensing her consciousness, he cooed as quietly as he could, “we're going home, Poodle. You're gonna be okay. Get some sleep, you're with me now.”

 

And Kagome's world slowly drifted into a subtle darkness that didn't seem so ominous.

 

*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*XX*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*

 

 

The day had been nothing short of astonishingly dreary for InuYasha. He had gone to his classes, upset over the fact of Kagome's sudden illness and her departure from the campus. Kikyo hadn't seemed overly worried over her disappearance, regardless that she had left on a thirsty Thursday. Kikyo's version of the story was that Kagome got so drunk somewhere that she had gone home with some other man and was to embarrassed to admit it. InuYasha didn't particularly like that version and preferred to believe that Kagome was indeed home and rather ill in bed. Thinking of that raven haired pain in bed with some other man wrought a feeling of foreboding over his soul, intertwining with the harp strings of his heart and played a rather melancholy melody that disturbed the hanyou greatly. Though she was not his to call his own, he disliked the idea of her with anyone else but himself. Luckily for the two timing jerk, he had escaped persecution from his current girlfriend by slipping away before his lust for Kagome begot a situation that the man would rather not face.

 

Reaching into the pocket of his brown leather coat, he removed his cell phone and flipped it open with one finger. Staring in contempt at the tiny screen, he began key through his contacts to find Kagome's number. Before he could reach the K's, judiciousness dug it's way into his illogical decision and demanded its say in the matter.

 

`Don't be a stupid dumb ass,' his conscious mocked as he shoved the tiny Fusic back into his pocket, `I would love to hear your explanation for trying to call her about that. You'd sound like a douche.' He hated when his conscious was right.

 

Shaking his head, he jumped out of his Hummer, his eyes downcast as a barrage of curse words slipped from his lips. “What the hell is wrong with me?” And wasn't that the question of the year? First he did a big no and fell for Kagome; but had he? She was haunting his dreams (and he had soiled sheets to prove it), and she was all that he thought about. The recent times he had been with Kikyo, which were quite sparse, he had to bite his tongue to keep from calling out Kagome's name. But then he fucked up even more; he let Miroku see him without his power limiter. That blew the doors off his reign over the kingdom of idiocy, elevating him from being a simple idiot to being an absolute moron with no hope of redemption. What scared him though was that he was beginning to wonder whether or not Miroku would forgive him for such transgressions. He had lied to his best friend, in a round about sort of way, for the past thirteen years.

 

Miroku had to understand the position that InuYasha had unwillingly been thrust into upon his first pathetic breath of life in this world. InuYasha couldn't tell him because of the family curse, or blood, whatever it was to be called. And what was worse then Miroku finding out, was that Miroku was bound to ask questions, and would soon figure out that InuYasha wasn't even a full demon at that. His heritage was one of his biggest insecurities, and knowing that someone else besides for his arrogant brother and demanding father, was about to find out his dirty past didn't sit well with the hanyou at all.

 

InuYasha wasn't sure how to handle the situation at hand. Should he tell Miroku everything and answer all of his questions or should he evade most of the critical knowledge that could cripple the family. Twice he had pulled out his phone to call his brother; Sesshoumaru would know how to handle the situation with the utmost diligence and proper care; however, alerting Sesshoumaru to the compromise would only leave InuYasha open for an outright attack on his carelessness by his obstinate older brother. And in all honesty, being lectured wasn't on his to do list. The summation of the entire problem left little question that the situation itself would best be handled by the hanyou at hand.

 

`It's Miroku,' he thought as he trudged up to his doorway and pulled out his keys. Staring up at the brick faced apartment, a sense of dread overwhelmed his senses, setting off tiny alarms throughout the hanyou's brain. Trying to warm himself to the confrontation he was about to endeavor, he gave himself a two sentence long prep talk. `He'll fuckin' understand. I know he will!'

 

Jarring open the old oak door, he balked at what he awaited his return. In front of him were a number of boxes, most packed with knickknacks and crap that had been sitting around the apartment for months. However, all the aforementioned crap was Miroku's. As he felt his heart begin to race in his chest, he rushed through the boxes across the flat towards Miroku's room. Why was all of his shit packed? Miroku wouldn't move out over this stupid fight, would he? Was it because he knew now and wasn't okay with living with a demon? Was he that racist against the demon population? No, Miroku wasn't like that! InuYasha felt light headed as he pushed open the door to Miroku's room, grimacing at the pandemonium that had over swept his roommate's normally tidy quarters.

 

Miroku sat amongst the debris, perched on his bed like a king on his throne, a joint in one hand and a framed photo in the other. Instantly InuYasha knew what photo it was and it struck a cord deep within his chest. It was the same photo he had on his dresser; it was a photo from their senior cut day down to Wild Wood, New Jersey. In it were he, Miroku, Koharu (Miroku's flavor of that week), and Kikyo sitting on the beach, the sun setting behind them casting a brilliant glow about the photo. Miroku had framed two copies and had given one to InuYasha when they graduated High School upon the rationalization that it would have been their last long trip together. Though Miroku had attended a public school whilst InuYasha and the tachi had attended private, their relationship as friends had never wavered. InuYasha had laughed at the gesture, calling it gay and a stupid thing to do, but it had graced his dresser for the last five years regardless of the libel.

 

“You know,” Miroku called to him without looking up, “this weekend might have been the best of my life? I mean, we had total freedom this weekend with your dad's credit card. We got all the food we wanted and all the alcohol we could consume. I don't think I've ever had so much sex in my life as I did with Koharu over that weekend.”

 

InuYasha slowly leaned against the door, not liking the glazed expression that had overtaken his friend's face. He had seen it once before on the face of his mother when she had explained to him that she was going away and he was going to live with his father for a few months. He hadn't seen her again until the funeral. The hell he was going to allow Miroku walk out of his life like in such a fashion. Shifting his weight to block the door, his lips turned upwards just slightly. Maybe if he kept the conversation light then Miroku would find it easier within his heart to forgive him. “I know; I had to fuckin' sleep on the beach with Kikyo that weekend because you two had absolutely no reserve!” Insults always worked, right?

 

Miroku shrugged half heartedly, taking a long drag from the roach in his hand. Letting the smoke slip from his lips after sucking the drugs into his lungs, he watched the lazy circles fade into nothingness. “Maybe, but hell dude, can you blame me. We were so fucked up.” Shaking his head, it was easy to see how lost he was in the memories. “But we had one hell of a time. What I wouldn't give to get back these past five years.”

 

InuYasha casually shrugged regardless of his heart lurching in his chest. He knew that feeling all to well; he longed to get back the wasted years he spent trying to live up to his brother's name and his father's expectations. “Maybe,” he answered cryptically.

 

Miroku slowly set down the picture on his left side then lifted his eyes to meet InuYasha's questioning gaze. With a sigh, he averted his eye quickly, unable to see the pain on the hanyou's face. The truth was barren in front of him. “It was easier then, you know. Life was easier, hell, everything was easier. I wish it could be like that again; nothing mattering, you know? Fuck schools, fuck relationships, fuck stereotypes.”

 

InuYasha stood up slowly, his ears registering the apologetic tone of the boy's voice. He heard what Miroku wasn't saying and his nearly killed him. He was going to lose his best friend to this bull shit. In a brash movement, InuYasha called out to his friend in the most commanding tone he could muster. “No.”

 

Miroku glanced up at him once, missing the obvious insinuation of the transgressions. “You don't think so? How can you say it's easier now?”

 

InuYasha scoffed, “fuck that, I don't really give a damn about the past. I'm talking about this,” he motioned to the boxes with a wild gesture, his eyes hardening as they met Miroku's. “No.”

 

Miroku glanced around before slowly sitting back, a sigh slipping from his lips. With what looked like a moment of collecting himself, Miroku sat up fully and stared InuYasha in the eyes, his gaze daring the youkai to lie. “I have one question and one question alone. How you answer will result on these boxes either going into storage, or going into my car.”

 

InuYasha swallowed the baseball sized lump in his throat, sweat beginning to break out across his forehead. How could Miroku think about leaving? After all these years, after such a long friendship; how could one white lie ruin it all? Miroku was dead serious; InuYasha could see it in his eyes. How could he base their entire friendship on the deliberation of one answer? Somehow, even though this was technically his fault, InuYasha felt jaded.

 

“Does Kikyo know the truth?”

 

InuYasha gawked for a moment before he started snickering. The subtle snickering soon turned into deep hearty chuckles that rocked his entire body. Turning to rest against the wooden door frame, InuYasha continued to laugh. “You think I would tell Kikyo something I couldn't tell you? Fuck dude, you're my best friend!”

 

Miroku studied InuYasha for a moment before taking a long drag from his joint, obviously pleased with the answer. A small however snide smile crawled across his face lethargically. “I would be to hope not. Because if that cunt-dyke- whore knew and I didn't…”

 

“No, she has no clue!” Standing up straight, InuYasha walked across the room to crash down onto the bed next to Miroku. Laying back to stare up at the ceiling while making himself comfortable, he added, “She hates demons. She thinks they should be obliterated from the world, destroyed by the military, probably burned at the stake while she's at it. Apparently we're as dangerous as the Al Qaeda, in her opinion.”

 

Miroku rolled his eyes, passing the marijuana to InuYasha. Putting his hands behind his head, Miroku stared up at the ceiling as well, joining his friend in the occupation that they had spent so many years doing in their youth. Laying in Miroku's room on the hot summer days before they hit their teenage years, the boys would indulge in Miroku's step-father's sake and cigars and speak of existentialism in the conception of derived by their eleven year old minds. “In my opinion, she's the one who should be shot.”

 

InuYasha took a healthy drag before he handed the roach back to the owner. “I ain't going there.” Turning his eyes to stare at the profile of his brother, he laughed quietly, “You really thought I'd tell her and not you? You must be outside your mind.”

 

“If you had,” Miroku looked towards the boxes, a heavy sobriety weighing his words, “I would have been gone.”

 

InuYasha measured his words and took them at face value, asking the ignorant question. “So you're not leaving?” A glimmer of hope shined through the darkness.

 

Miroku shook his head slowly, “No, I'll hatch it out a bit longer. But I want some answers, and they better be the truth.”

 

`Oh great, here we go,' InuYasha thought with the utmost dread. This was the part he feared the most. “I'll do my best, how's that?”

 

Miroku pinned him with a glare that dared him to lie. “You're entire family are demons?”

 

InuYasha made a face. “All of my father's side is, yes. My mother, however, wasn't. Remember that Sesshoumaru is my half brother.”

 

Miroku raised an eyebrow. “How did that work out? Did your mom know your dad was a demon or was that one of those, `opps, sorry for the mega schlong babe, forgot to mention a few important things'.”

 

“Yes, she knew and two, eww.” Cocking an eyebrow at Miroku, InuYasha shuddered at the after effects of the boy's comment. “She worked for him for a while as his secretary, and things got heated between them at the office, as apparently it always does. It was at a point where he and Launia were having major problems and had separated. Well…father knew best apparently and jumped into bed with my mom, not thinking he'd get her pregnant. But as all good dramas go, sure enough he did. He tried to take her into his protection, explaining to her that our secret couldn't get out. She refused, rightfully, and took the concealment charm for me as a parting gift promising her silence in return for her freedom.”

 

Miroku grimaced and slowly shook his head. “That sucks, my friend. But…if she took you then how did you end back up with your father?”

 

InuYasha grunted, disliking the severity of the story. He hated remembering those years with his mother; it was probably the most unpleasant of his life. But he agreed to tell Miroku what he could, and he wasn't going to hold back at this point. “She quit working for my dad and left town with me. She got my dad to grant her full custody, as a way to cover up the affair so that Launia and Sesshoumaru weren't dragged into it. She didn't want to ruin his marriage, or so he told me. I can't really remember what happened, but I know mom started drinking. She drank so much that she couldn't hold down a job or even function correctly.

 

“I ended up getting removed by DYFAS when I was in kindergarten for coming to school without being fed or bathed for over three days. They sent me to live with my father and it took six months before my mom showed up at the house to explain why I couldn't see mommy anymore. She explained to me that I was going to stay with Toga and that she would see me again soon. I remember at that time looking at the hue of her skin wondering why she looked so yellow, but I figured it out years later that her liver was failing her. It turned out that she had drunk so much over such a short period that she gave herself a condition. After they removed me, she started popping pills and doing all sorts of drugs to relieve the nonexistent pain, aside from her own demons that lurked in her brain. She drank herself into the grave, quite literally. Next time I saw her was the open casket funeral about a year later.”

 

Miroku grimaced, his entire facial expression softening. “Dude, I had no clue. I mean, I knew that your mom died after giving you over to your dad, but I had no idea about the drugs and shit. I'm sorry, that really sucks.”

 

InuYasha shrugged; the sadness of his aura unable to be shaken. “Don't be. I'm sorry I never told you that…either.”

 

Raising an eyebrow, Miroku evenly replied, “I understand, Yash. Don't think that I don't get why you couldn't tell me. I get that your family could have been destroyed. I don't know if I would have told you if the situation was reversed. It just blows, ya know? You think you know someone…”

 

InuYasha shot off the bed like a rocket, his mouth hanging open and a bit of venom lacing his words. “You do know me, Miroku. It's not like I'm a completely different person. I just look a little different under it all. But it's still me, Damnit, you can't miss it!”

 

“With claws, and fangs, and a Dom fetish, oh my.”

 

InuYasha balked for a moment, his cheeks turning slightly red under the digression of his personal life. “How do you know...?”

 

Miroku snickered once, the guy that InuYasha knew all too well quickly returning to extinguish his melancholy mood. “I didn't, I just guessed.” Seeing InuYasha nearly face plant himself into the floor, Miroku rolled backwards and got out of the range of the boy's reach. “Shit dude, you really are one kinky mofo! I mean whips, leather pants and a fetish that makes girls squeal.” Avoiding a swipe from the boy's hand, Miroku grinned like the Cheshire cat. “So…do you have a sex slave? Cause if you do, I want one too.” As if a sudden pang of understanding passed over him, Miroku looked like he wanted to vomit. “Oh god, tell me Kikyo isn't into this shit, because that would be so wrong on so many levels!” Shivering to prove his point, he rolled his eyes and made a retching sound, “That's like having thoughts of Miss Piggy in leather. It's just jaw dropping …eww.”

 

InuYasha scoffed, averting his attention away from Miroku, embarrassed by his own brash exclamation. As Miroku's words set in and InuYasha snapped back to attention. “No! God no, if Kikyo knew half the shit I was into, she'd drop me like a J-Lo drops fiancés.”

 

Making sure he was out of hitting range, Miroku did a wonderful impersonation of the finger triangle of evil. “Well then, it seems that I have work to do. Quick Robin, to the bat cave!”

 

InuYasha grabbed him by the back of his sweatshirt before he could make it to the door. Pulling him back to the bed, he threw Miroku onto the king sized bed and began to pace the room. “No, boy blunder, you're not telling Kikyo anything, remember?”

 

“But…your demon thing is a secret; your masochistic tendencies are open game!”

 

“You do realize I could kill you, right?”

 

Miroku didn't bat an eye. “You'd have to catch me first.”

 

A smirk worked its way to the hanyou's face. “Trust me when I say that wouldn't be a problem.”

 

“If I rolled up a news paper, would you run away?”

 

InuYasha's eyebrows disappeared under his bangs. “Excuse me?”

 

Miroku laughed again, shaking his head. “Never mind, I'll save that for later.”

 

InuYasha made motion to lunge at the boy and Miroku scurried from the room. Watching Miroku make a hasty escape, still clad in his leather pants, InuYasha smirked and leaned against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest. It felt as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders, as a lazy smile spread like a rash across his face. At least, even if hell broke loose, Miroku would be by his side. Somehow it made the day seem brighter.

 

*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*XX**X*X*X

 

-Sorry so long to update. I just don't like how this chapter came out. X__X

mm.org

girl_X_16 (as for the bite…we'll see. As for the lemon juice in a bullet wound, yes, it hurt to write it as much. How would she be the same. Dom/sub's are funny like that. Depending on the abuse, it can be nearly normal. Will it be. Oh no)

 

Leila-chan (no, not that bad ^_~. Thank you for your villain comment, I'm glad I can do evil. Yes couple. hehe)

Toyas Gurl (yay for someone realizing the Princess Bride fun. Yes, bank had to be a major part. To bad he's evil),

amhor56 (a little more acquainted)

 

silveraliora (yeah, Miro didn't know. opps? Hehe. )

Moon_essence 1 (a lot of people thought Kouga. Nope, Bank all the way. Killing him…hmm. Can't do it, it's Bank)

Tarzan14 (if I didn't keep you hanging, it would be me),

Radhika (will they find out? Yes…not soon though)

Shizuka Kaze (hehe. Thanks girl, means a lot coming from you. Now when are you updating. ~_^)

sexy_Capricorn ( I know, I'm glad it went over okay. As for what she would do? I think Kikyo's reaction would be better. Thanks for the comment of inspiration. That makes me smile. No death…)

MistressKagome4U (LOL!! wow. That's a little TMI. Hehe. j/k)

Da grrrl (::huggles:: couldn't have done it without your help chika)

Trinity K (yeah, it's gonna be dark. Sorry).

Blaccwolf123 (nope, no Naraku daddy in this. Maybe other family members), Lyghtchyld (yup, 10 fold. Maybe more),