Crossover With Non-anime Series Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Darkling Winter ❯ To Send a Crackerjack ( Chapter 2 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Disclaimer: I claim no ownership of Sengoku Otogizoushi - InuYasha nor the Dark Hunter series. Inuyasha belongs to Takahashi Rumiko, Shogakukan, Viz Media, ShoPro Entertainment, and Shounen; while the Dark Hunter series belongs to Sherrilyn Kenyon. No profit or monies of any kind are made from this fan-created crossover.
Warnings: AR for Inuyasha (Kagome never returns after three years); Set three years before Talon's book; mature content; mature language.

Near midnight found Kagome and Talon entering her apartment. With exaggerated slowness and calmness, she closed and locked her door before taking off her coat under his watchful eyes. Was she being childish by taking as much time as she could to stave off the inevitable discussion? Perhaps, but she liked to think she earned the right. After all, it wasn't every night she wasn't being forced into taking handsome strangers back to her place in order to discuss the fact that she had been killing what he called "Daimon"s.

He stepped into her living room as she removed her shoes. She glared at his biker boots with unusual upset feelings, normally she couldn't care if Europeans or Americans took off their shoes or not when they stopped by, but it bothered her this time. Perhaps it, too, was childish, but she couldn't care. She already hadn't been in the best mood since last night, and his bad mood wasn't helping hers at all. Oh, how she'd love to tackle him to the ground and rip off his boots.

If only to throw them at his head.

She stood and glared at him again. Her place was small, but cozy. It was not feminine in overt ways, but his large biker presence made it seem so. The off-white, near pastel white-yellow walls and various nick-knacks from Japan that were the only decorations seemed decidedly feminine and soft next to his rugged grace and black leather. His looks and her place clashed like night and day, almost like a sloppy mismatch of East and West. Her eastern scrolls and jade and looks; his western scrollwork on his jacket and gold and looks.

It eased her bad mood somewhat, though she was still a little pissy with him. She doubted even Sesshoumaru could make her place seem small with just his height and build like Talon did.

Kagome brushed past him, deliberately hitting his arm, "Tea?" Though she spoke it as a question, it wasn't one. He was going to get tea and enjoy it even if she had to force it down his throat.

She was surprised though when he followed her to the door frame of her little kitchen that resembled a kitchenette more. If he was going to play this game, then she could play her own. And she'd bet she could make him crack first... Well, maybe not, but it wouldn't stop her from trying.

Without bothering to look over to him, she bent over to pull out her kettle, "What is important that you had to force me to bring you here to discuss?"

He didn't answer immediately, and she liked to think it had to do where his eyes were focused on. She straightened, the kettle in her hand, giving him only a brief curious glance on her way to fill it up with water. His countenance was as closed off as always.

"Do you know what Daimons are?" he asked.

She paused for a moment; what a curious way to start off an interrogation. She figured he didn't have much experience in it. With calm hands, she turned off the water, "No. I've never heard that word before." She thought it over as she placed the kettle on the stove. "You said that word before, what is it?"

He crossed his arms and leaned against the frame, blocking all hopes of escape for her, unless she wanted to jump out a window. "A Daimon is an Apollite that refused to give into their curse, and instead feeds off the souls of others to survive."

So they had been saying "soul" during many of the earlier attacks. And it was partly because of a curse, as she had sensed. Yet his answer had spawned more questions. "What are.. ah.. Apollite?" She tested out the new name, wincing as she felt she butchered it. In her defense, it was a very odd word. One she'd never come across.

And was it her imagination, or had Talon just sighed?

"Have you ever heard of the Greek God, Apollo?"

She nodded slowly, "Yes and no. I know the name... He had a twin sister, ne? But that's all."

"You don't need to know much else," he said, relaxing somewhat. "Apollites were once just a family who had been cursed by Apollo to die on their twenty-seventh birthday. Daimons are Apollites who refused to die and instead live by feeding off souls."

"How cruel," she muttered, though she was certain Talon heard it. She looked over at him, "And you? What are you?"

He smirked, "What do you mean?"

"Are you Apollite? Daemonn?"

"Neither."

She relaxed slightly, glad he wasn't either. She didn't like the thought that she'd have to kill him as well either right now or in the future. However it still left the question of what he was. A small piece of information she had almost forgotten from the night before resurfaced. Though she had done some small looking around online, she had found nothing regarding the term.

With a deep breath, she asked lowly, "...Dark Hunter?"

After she spoke those words, it became deathly silent in her kitchen. She could hear how he tensed, even if it was just in a sharply inhaled breath and the squeaking of his leather. Those sounds spoke louder and said more than either would be willing to admit to. He was one, she wasn't supposed to know the term. And she felt as if she had stumbled onto something much larger and darker than that of the Shikon no Tama.

The kettle whistled, but neither paid attention to it. Talon was focused upon her form, and she was focused upon the wall. She felt as if she shouldn't know and that she was guilty of knowing, but he had started this game. When he didn't say anything, she turned off the stove and turned to another cupboard that held her tea set and tea tins.

"How do you know that term?"

Her hand gripped the cupboard door tight, "I don't know it." She sighed and figured it was in everyone's best interests if she admitted to her nightly deeds without admitting directly, "I heard it last night, the... Daemonn... spoke it toward me. And mentioned someone he called only 'her'. He said I couldn't be a Dark Hunter, though I had the looks, but not the height and that I still had a soul... If that are the three conditions, then you fulfill all three."

When silence reigned again, she set about setting everything up. Her own game forgotten at the serious turn the conversation took, or else she would be trying her best to entice him to look at her while she struggled to reach something just out of reach. But given the context, she still liked to think it was tacky, even for her.

Neither broke the somewhat comfortable silence until she was done and both had taken a seat on her small couch. The tea set sat between them on the coffee table. And now neither knew exactly how to start up the conversation again. Kagome opened her mouth at the same time as Talon.

"So it really has --..."

"How does one become a Dark Hunter? How can you give up your soul so easily?"

He leaned back into the couch, his own question forgotten. "Between death and a chance for revenge on those who killed you and your family, there really isn't much of a choice."

She shook her head, "Yes, there is. For me, death would be easy to choose. Revenge brings more pain than anyone realizes."

"Spoken like a warrior."

She offered a humorless smile, "Well, I have been going around killing your Daemonns, so I must be to some degree."

He smirked, "That reminds me. How are you turning them to ash?"

This time her smile was happy, and she even laughed, "Don't you know it's not polite to ask such things of women?" He shrugged and she shook her head, "Why are you even giving this information to me? Don't Dark Hunters have some secretive code to keep everyone from finding out about you?"

"I think in your case, no one will mind. You stumbled across us, not the other way around."

She lifted her cup, "Oh? Here I thought you had been looking to 'stumble across' me. And I don't consider being hunted for my soul as 'stumbling across'."

He shot her a dry look to which she only smirked at before taking a drink of her tea. He never removed his eyes from her form, "You've been attracting a lot of Daimon attention. With your large soul, and killing spree, you're pissing them off."

"They pissed me off first," she shrugged. "Like I enjoy giving up my nights to kill those who would kill me first."

"There's rumors they're going to send a Spathi after you."

She sighed and gave him an obvious look, "Stop giving me such strange words. First you call them 'Daemonn's now you're saying 'Spathi'. Is there a difference?"

He returned her look with his own, "If you enjoy living, there is."

With a heavy sigh, she set down her teacup, "Fine, I'll bite. What are 'Spathi'?"

"Their warrior class."

In her mind, that equated to a Daiyoukai in her mind. Though she wouldn't say it out loud as she didn't know the English equivalent to the word and would have no way of explaining it. Especially since she'd then have to explain what a youkai was, and that was a conversation she preferred never happened. Her past was a non-issue here, and there was no way it could have any bearing on any present or future event. If Spathi were truly on the same level as a Daiyoukai, then not even she was willing to admit she'd have troubles killing one. Sesshoumaru had been the only one she had encountered, and she had been unable to destroy more than part of his breastplate with her hama no reiryoku.

But she let none of it show, keeping up an air of nonchalance as if the news didn't unsettle her. "Then they shall die too if they are stupid enough to come after me," she said. Even he didn't seem to buy her words. Given his impressive build and the powers she knew he had to have as a Dark Hunter, if even rumors of a Spathi coming set him on edge, it said something about the creature.

"Even I'm not reckless enough to be that cocky when dealing with them."

"Ah, but you admit you're cocky," she teased, trying to lighten the serious air. It was too early in the morning to be having such conversations. Then again, the night was much more interesting than the day... She sighed when he didn't laugh, only to turn and look out the window behind them. The night sky was lightening, it would be pre-dawn soon. How the night managed to pass so quickly was a mystery to her. Another night of sleep lost. Her lack of sleep was beginning to show in her attitude.

He cursed and stood up. She gave him a strange look, "Have to be somewhere so early?"

Talon looked torn between two evils. Had he been a lesser man, she was sure he would have been pulling at his two long braids. "I...can't be in the sunlight."

She tried to hide her chuckles behind her hand, "And do you have fangs too?"

Despite it obviously not being the time, he grinned. Two dangerous canines were easy to spot now that she was looking. The seriousness of the situation hit her as she stood to walk over to him. She stood on her tiptoes and tilted her head up as far as she could just so she could clearly see his face. Compared to his impressive 6'5" of height, she was a midget. Uncaring of how inappropriate she was being, she gently lifted his upper lip to see his fangs close up. He could have just as easily stopped her, but he allowed her to look.

Or maybe he was shocked that she wasn't running off screaming about mythical creatures that he may or may not be.

She only looked a moment before she backed off. "Kyuuketsuki," she breathed out and she was sure he caught the word.

And had no idea whether to be offended or not.

She shook her head, "Ah.. It's... Well..." The English word wasn't coming to mind though she knew she knew it.

"Vampire?"

Snapping her fingers, she nodded, "That's it."

"Not exactly, but I still can't be in the sun."

She shrugged, "Vampire." With a laugh, she motioned for him to follow her. "My bedroom has thick curtains. You should be OK."

That night found Kagome's life taking an even stranger turn. One she didn't appreciate in the slightest bit.

The day had gone as almost every other day had. She had slept in long enough for it to be close to noon, gone out to buy groceries for the day, headed to her shift at Cafe du Monde, then headed home. Or rather, that's how she liked to think her day had gone.

Instead, she barely slept. Though her couch was comfortable to sit on, sleeping was another matter entirely. Talon had kindly offered for her to sleep in her bed. Unfortunately, the thought of sleeping with Talon not only in the room but watching her sleep in a lack of anything else to do didn't sit too well with her. Especially since she knew she would be thinking about all the other things a bed could be used for in such a situation. So she kept to her couch.

She was cranky and sore in ways she hadn't been since her adventure. Even more so when she realized that she had slept well past noon and all she had time for was a quick shower before she had to rush off to her job. That she had forgotten about the European man in her bedroom when she finished with her shower hadn't helped any of her issues. Had she nothing else to do for a few hours and were she that kind of woman, she would have gladly jumped Talon when he gave her a heated glance at seeing her in nothing but a towel.

That look of his was the undoing of many other women, she was sure of it. Had circumstances been different, she would have gladly joined the ranks of the women Talon had bedded with no remorse.

But it was what it was.

She grabbed her clothes and retreated back to the bathroom in order to get dressed in peace.

And as she was going to leave, she was informed that he would be picking her up again tonight. He had somewhere he wanted to take her. Any other woman would have immediately thought of "dinner", "romantic moonlit walk along the bayou", or something similar. Kagome was far from "any other woman" and it added to her bad mood. She thought of "dark interrogation room", "meeting with the boss for delving into things she shouldn't have", "stupid large soul always causing problems".

So maybe she was thinking of the third option more than she cared to admit.

Though it was better to think of that instead of how Talon was keeping himself occupied when locked up in her bedroom. If she found even one article of clothing missing, she would find a way to kill a human without a soul. And he was sure to find her saigo-yumi sooner or later, and it would be all the proof that would be needed to condemn her if she hadn't already admitted to killing Daimons. She only hoped he didn't accidentally break or damage it -- it would be nearly impossible to replace.

And then when he picked her up, she was certain she would have a nice hand print bruise on her upper arm. He pulled her over to his motorcycle before releasing her. The look on her face told her more than anything else that she would be smart to not give him any lip that night. But overt warnings were always somewhat lost on her when she was in a bad mood.

"What's your issue?" she shouted, resisting the urge to stomp her foot. He was already on his bike, waiting for her to get on. "So eager to get rid of me?"

He leveled an easy glare at her, "They know where you live."

Her childish side getting the better of her, she rolled her eyes, "Of course they know where I live. They're not stupid enough to be unable to figure that out."

"The Spathi has found you."

Now that bit of information caused her blood to run cold and all her ire to fade. She felt like an idiot; of course their little warrior would be able to find her if the regular Daimons could. With a resigned sigh, she got on the back of his bike and wrapped her arms around him as best she could. "How did you find that out?" she asked, though she dreaded what the answer was going to be.

She only hoped her place was still in one piece.

The revving of his bike was her answer before they sped off into the night. She squealed and held onto him tighter, burying her face into his broad back. They hadn't gone that fast the night before, and though she was scared to death of falling off, she couldn't deny the rush of adrenaline she felt. It was better than riding on Inuyasha's back, though far less safer. No rough calloused hands to wrap around her thighs and keep her close. What a pity.

Kagome never loosened her grip on him as he sped through streets and took turns at speeds she was more than sure he shouldn't be. Yet he had his Harley under complete control. Though her bare legs had been centimeters from brushing against the concrete, they never did; and though it seemed that they were going to tip over or have a nasty spill on some turns, he managed to keep it from doing so. Not an easy task with two people on a bike.

When he began slowing down in front of a seemingly empty business did she dare to look up and around. Her eyes kept coming back to a shadow on the left side of the street though. Only when they came closer did she realize what it was. As she began to shout out a warning to Talon, the world swam in front of her eyes.

Adrenaline and shock made her unaware of how hard she hit the concrete after she had been knocked off the bike. She heard the sickening thud of her body, and of Talon's as well. Right after it was followed by the ear-piercing screech of his bike sliding down the street, no longer having anyone to keep it upright. She moaned as she tried to keep her eyes open while trying to roll over.

If she could get off her back, it would be one less worry off her mind.

The world above her was fuzzy and distorted, unable to stop moving. Vaguely, she realized she hit her head. Though, given the situation, she doubted a helmet would have helped the fall much.

Another moan escaped her as she finally managed to roll over. Her breath came in sharp pants, and she wondered if she had a broken rib to add to her injuries. It took a moment for the thudding of heavy shoes to pierce the pained fog her head was swimming in. She blinked her eyes open, possibly appearing as if she was drunk, and she was: on pain. Black boots came into focus. She desperately wished for it to be Talon, but she knew better.

Talon had bigger feet. Talon was bigger than she knew this person to be. And she knew that gait well.

He was a killer, an elegant one. One who didn't use a gun. One who excelled in destroying his prey.

This was the Spathi sent to kill her. Though her mind provided her with "Sesshoumaru". Yet she was certain she wouldn't be dying of dog drool.

Close enough, either way.

The boots paused in front of her head. Using the last of her physical strength, she lifted her head to look up at him. Tight black pants came into view, black shirt, black trench coat, pale skin. Dark hair and dark eyes, but she couldn't be sure. No weapons in his hands.

"Not so strong without your kiddie weapons, are we woman?" the spathi spoke.

She could hear the shifting of his weight, he was so close. His hand touched her head, attempting to pet her hair before grabbing it, she was almost certain. Only he received a nasty shock. Had he been weaker, he would have lost his hand in the face of her hama no reiryoku. For him to think her arrows were her only weapon was stupid, then again, he had probably never come across a human like her before.

"Zamaamiyagare," she whispered, remembering the phrase from her past. It was too fitting in this instance because there were no better last words to speak.

The spathi pulled back his hand and hissed in pain. She saw him retract and how he pulled back his foot, ready to give her a near, if not, fatal kick to the head.

A clicking sound caught their attention. The last thing she saw was a bright halogen light before the pain caused her to pass out.

Crackerjack: lit. A person or thing of marked excellence
ne: impossible to translate, it's a word that means many things, but used at the end of a sentence in question form can mean, "No?", "Yes?", "Isn't it?", "Right?", "Correct?", and others along that line.
Shikon no Tama: lit. Base of the Four Spirits/Souls
Daiyoukai/Taiyoukai: Demon lord; lit. A leader of magical creatures
Hama no reiryoku: lit. The pure, "holy" energy usu. miko/houshi/shrine maidens/monks/priests have. Powers of purification
Kyuuketsuki: lit. Vampire(s)
Saigo-Yumi: lit. Priestess Bow, a long bow
Zamaamiyagare: lit. slang phrase along the lines of either "Fucking serves you right!" or "You got what you fucking deserved!" A favorite line of Kouga, Inuyasha, and others.


Ryukotseusei: You're most welcome! And I'm glad I have Talon's character down. His character is one I'm quite shaky on, not so much Kagome. And I have to agree: she really has met her match! Thank you for your review!
yusukekuramasgirl: Thank you so much for your kind words! I'm glad to read that you also think I have his character down.