InuYasha Fan Fiction / Bleach Fan Fiction ❯ Kagome's Laundry ❯ Scars ( Chapter 7 )

AN: Sorry this took so long to get up guys! My laptop got infected with a virus (twice!) and afterwards I just had a really hard time trying to get back into writing again D: But I'm back at it, so you can all relax ^_^

Disclaimer: I don't own, please don't sue!

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Chapter 7: Scars
Pairing: Kagome/Hisagi
Rating: T
For: ShadowFoxMoon

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All work and no play makes Shuuhei Hisagi a dull boy. And with all of the work that he had been putting in within his division, Hisagi felt very dull indeed. He'd been working himself to the bone for the past several months keeping up with the paperwork and responsibility that came with leading his division until a new permanent Captain was found. But for tonight he was ditching work and going out to one of his old haunts from before everything went to hell.

There was this one bar in the Rukongai that he used to drag Kira to, but tonight he was going it alone. Kira was just as busy taking on temporary leadership of his own division, and he doubted that the blonde would have agreed to come out with him even if he had asked.

When he arrived at the building he stood outside for a moment and simply took in the atmosphere. The doors were left wide open and the noise from inside filtered out into the dark streets. Light shone from the doorways and open windows and inside he could see all of the people. It was one of the more popular establishments in this sector of the Rukongai and there were always people inside laughing, talking, sometimes arguing, and always having fun. He could smell the aroma of food and alcohol and allowed a grin to play on his lips.

He had missed this place.

When Hisagi walked inside, he looked around and was pleased to see that his usual spot, a small table with three chairs in the corner by the bar itself, was open. He walked over and took a seat while thinking over what he would order since he was alone. There was a little extra cash in his wallet for once, maybe he would order something to eat with his sake; he hadn't eaten today and the thought of a meal made his mouth water.

He was just about to flag down one of the waitresses when he heard the bartender shout out, “Kagome! Shinigami at table nine!” He wasn't very fond of being announced like that. While many in Rukongai respected and admired those in the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, there were almost just as many that resented them and often liked to pick fights when they found division members alone.

But his annoyance disappeared as soon as he saw his waitress making her way towards him. Hisagi smirked. He remembered her. Kagome had been working at this particular bar for a while and she almost always took his orders when he came in.

He admired her as she made her way over with a bright smile on her face. She was dressed in a short, honeydew-green kimono decorated with white flowers and a soft-pink obi. He remembered when this particular kimono was new. She'd showed it off to him and Kira, and she had been so excited about the new piece of clothing and the compliments that she'd received on it. He hadn't been surprised that she'd been complimented on it. The soft color made her skin seem to give off a healthy glow while it contrasted well with her ebony hair. The more perverted part of his brain added in that it also showed off her small waist and left just enough to the imagination where her hips and chest were concerned.

He took notice of the geta sandals that donned her feet and followed the lines of her long legs that seemed to stretch on forever all the way up to the hem of the kimono he'd already admired. Before she reached his table, his eyes finally settled on her face. The ever-present smile she always seemed to have was firmly in place while her sapphire eyes sparkled in excitement as she saw who her newest customer for the evening was.

“Shuuhei!” She cried. “It seems like it's been forever since you've been down here to see me. Where have you been? And where's Kira? Did you decide to come all alone tonight?” He almost laughed; Kagome had always been chatty ever since they had met.

“Things in the court have been crazy since everything went down a few months ago. But I couldn't take being in the offices anymore and decided to play hooky from paperwork until the morning. Kira and I have both taken over our divisions until new Captains can be found and he's been really dedicated to it. I didn't want to bother him. How have you been?”

Kagome looked over her shoulder to make sure that her boss wasn't watching her before taking the seat across from Hisagi for a moment. “I've been good. Things don't change much around here, you know? I work, eat, sleep, play with the local children when I have the time, help the sick…same old same old.”

Hisagi chuckled before leaning back in his chair and shaking his head. “Yeah, same old Saint Kagome.”

Kagome reached across the table to smack him on the arm with her notepad and was about to get onto him for calling her that when a drunken slur was called out from across the room. “Hey, sweet-thing! Me an' m'buddies need s'more booze! Where'd ya go?!”

Kagome sighed while rolling her eyes before saying, “See? Same old drunks, same old cat-calls. Do you know what you want? I can go ahead and take your order and get it in before taking care of those guys.”

“Sure; I'm going to have a bottle of sake with some yakitori. Thanks, Kagome,” he said with a grin as she wrote down his order.

“No problem,” she returned before blushing as their eyes met. “I'll put this in for you and be back with your sake in a minute.” And with that she scampered back to the kitchen faster than usual.

When she came back out his eyes followed her as she went behind the bar to grab one of the small bottles of sake and a cup for him before depositing them on the table with a quick smile. She then went back to the bar and grabbed one of the sake jugs so that she could refill the glasses of the rowdier customers who had called out to her earlier.

He watched her closely as she neared the table of drunken men. After getting to know Kagome over time, Hisagi had come to the conclusion that she wasn't really suited for working in a bar like this. She was wonderful with people and the customers, but she sometimes had trouble telling people `no' when they started acting out. She had tried to explain once that she didn't want to offend the customers and she could forgive them for being obnoxious because they had often been drinking and probably weren't themselves.

Hisagi didn't completely buy that, of course. He knew that alcohol lifted the inhibitors that kept people from making asses of themselves; they did things that they would normally still want to do, but simply refrained from doing due to rules or decency.

He was still sipping on his first cup of sake when he heard a sharp gasp before the sound of something breaking quieted the room. His head immediately snapped up to see Kagome struggling against one of the men whose glasses she had been refilling. The large man had pulled Kagome down into his lap and wrapped his arms around her so that her arms were pinned at her sides. Currently, she was kicking and demanding to be let go.

“Stay with us,” the man tried to persuade her and Hisagi's eyes narrowed when he saw Kagome turn her face away with a grimace at the smell of the man's breath.

“Please let go. There are still other customers who I need to take care of,” she tried to reason as she glanced over to where Hisagi sat. “Besides, if you don't let me go who will bring you more sake?”

The man laughed and showed no signs of letting her go anytime soon. “I think we'd rather have you than the booze, right guys?” He leered as a chorus of agreements answered him.

Hisagi sighed as he placed his cup on the table. And tonight was supposed to be his night to relax, too…

Kagome strained against the much larger man's hold as she closed her eyes and shuddered in disgust as the feeling of something in the man's lap poking her lower hip. Tears started to well up in her eyes as she felt the other men at the table join in on their friend's fun. There was a rough hand stroking her leg while another tugged on her obi from behind.

Just as she was about to call out for help from anyone else in the room, she heard a deep voice speak up from in front of her. “You heard her. Let her go.”

Kagome looked up with watery eyes to see Hisagi glaring at the men around her. She knew that he was usually very calm and composed, but right now he looked angry and she was glad that it wasn't directed at her.

The man that was still holding her spoke up, “We're just having some fun, but you're not invited to this party so get lost. We ain't Hollows or criminals, so there's not a damn thing you can do, Mr. Shinigami.” Kagome flinched at the bite that the man's tone held. This probably wouldn't end well.

Hisagi stiffened before breathing in and out to calm his temper. He couldn't draw his sword in a place like this and he wouldn't risk hurting Kagome. “My job is to keep the peace in Soul Society. You happen to be disturbing that peace right now. I'm going to have to ask you and your friends to leave. If you don't then I'll be forced to make you.”

This seemed to anger the man holding Kagome because he stood and roughly shoved Kagome into the grasp of one of his friends. He was several inches taller than Hisagi and much more bulky in build. “Yeah? Let's see what you got, little man,” he threatened.

Hisagi waited patiently for the man's first attack because it was only a matter of time. When the attack came, it was an attempted right-hook. Being used to dealing with attacks much faster than this, Hisagi easily dodged the fist only to grab it and pull the arm behind its owner at a painful angle. He used this control to guide the man over to the door where he proceeded to place his foot on the man's back and give him a firm push into the street.

The large man stumbled for a moment before whirling around and making an attempt to come back inside. But before he could get within ten feet of the doorway, Hisagi mumbled “Bakudou One” before turning back to the rest of the rowdy bunch knowing that the one in the street wouldn't be a problem anymore.

“So,” Hisagi began, “is there anyone else who wants to cause trouble, or are you all going to go home peacefully for the night?”

The remaining men glanced at each other before glaring back at Hisagi. Five of the six remaining rushed at him, shoving Kagome to the floor and out of the way. He dealt with these men much like he had dealt with the first; efficiently and with little actual violence.

Kagome watched in awe as her friend made subduing the group seem so easy. She had seen Inuyasha and her other friends fight, but it was usually more violent. This was different. She could tell that none of Hisagi's attackers were getting hurt, merely redirected—usually out the door.

Then, as Hisagi was dealing with the remaining three, she saw the sixth forgotten man pick up a small sake bottle off of a nearby table and bring his arm back for the pitch. Her eyes widened and she shouted, “Look out!”

Hisagi turned his head just in time for the bottle to catch him on the left side of his forehead.

Kagome heard him curse before angering some and dealing with the remaining men, the sixth included, in a slightly rougher fashion. He stepped outside to make sure that they were leaving and came back in once he saw that they were limping their ways down the street.

Hisagi closed his right eye as blood and alcohol trickled down his face. He saw Kagome getting off of the ground and walked over to make sure that she was alright. But before he could even say anything, she was fussing over his face.

“Oh my gosh! Shuuhei! Your face…are you alright?? Here, let me see,” she said a she pushed his black hair out of the way to get a better look.

He watched out of his right eye as Kagome stood on her tip-toes to see the wound to his head. He knew that it wasn't that bad. He wasn't dizzy or nauseous and was completely coherent, so the chances that he had a concussion were slim to none. But while he knew that he was fine, he didn't feel the need to stop Kagome's attentions.

It wasn't any secret to him that he was attracted to the small woman. She was beautiful and kind, and he was a young, healthy, straight male. Honestly, he'd question himself if he wasn't attracted to her.

“It doesn't look like that's going to stop bleeding anytime soon,” she said bringing him out of his musings. “Come on, I'm going to help you take care of that.” She grabbed his hand and started pulling him towards the kitchen. “Yumi, I'm going to need you to close out my tables for the night, please?” She asked one of the waitresses in the kitchen who nodded with a sly smile as she caught sight of Hisagi. “And Akito, is that yakitori I asked for earlier ready?”

“Yeah, Kagome. It's sitting on the pickup counter,” the cook answered.

“Great,” she answered with a smile. “Thanks, it was his so I'm going to take it up with me while I take care of his head.” With that she grabbed the plate of skewered chicken and started up a flight of stairs at the back of the kitchen.

Hisagi knew that she rented a room above the bar that she worked at, but he had never seen it. The thought made him a little nervous.

When they made it into her small home, she place his food down on a table before going to light some candles and open the windows so that the moonlight could help illuminate the room. When she turned back to him with a smile, he had to concentrate so as not to let his jaw hit the floor. Surrounded by the soft light of the candles and the moon, she looked…he couldn't even think of a word to describe it; beautiful wouldn't have done her justice.

The moonlight made her dark hair and pale skin seem to glow while the candlelight made her entire body look warm and inviting. Then he realized that this was Kagome. He had known her for some time now, but he had never imagined that she could look so breathtaking.

“Well are you just going to stand there or are you going to come sit down so that I can take a look at you?” She teased while pointing to the edge of her futon.

Without saying a work, Hisagi made his way over and sat down where she had designated. He watched as she made her way over to a basin to grab a rag before wetting it and wringing it out. Filling a small bowl with some water, she made her way back to sit next to him.

“Does it hurt?” She asked.

“What do you think?” He retorted with a hiss of pain as she began dabbing the rag over the gash the bottle had left.

He looked at her strangely when she giggled before wetting the rag again. “Well all of you shinigami act so tough, I didn't know a little thing like this would bother you. Who knew you were all such big babies at heart?”

Hisagi was about to lecture her until he caught the look in her eyes. They were sparkling with a rare mischievousness and something else he couldn't quite identify. This was a side of Kagome that he had never really seen. He usually only saw her when she was waitressing, so this was a new environment. The dynamic had changed and he was unsure on how to proceed. He finally decided to wing it and see how things went.

“Yeah, good thing Hollows aren't smart enough to throw sake bottles at us in battle. We'd be in trouble then,” he joked awkwardly. But Kagome laughed and he couldn't help but smile at the sound and the feeling of knowing that he'd caused it.

Kagome continued to clean the blood off of his face and out of his hair while Hisagi simply watched her. Her slender hands were soft and gentle and he almost fell asleep until a soft pink light filled one eye. He immediately snapped to attention only to hear Kagome say, “Calm down, I'm not going to hurt you. This is a much quicker and less painful option to stitches.”

Settling down, Hisagi looked as far to his left as he was able. She had her right hand positioned over his wound while her left hand held his chin to keep his head steady. But her hand was glowing! What was she doing? Was it a form of kidou? Who had taught it to her?

But his questions steadily died down as warmth filled him. His entire being felt at peace and very relaxed, but as quickly as the feeling had taken over, it disappeared.

“How does that feel? It might still be a little tender, but it shouldn't scar or anything,” she said while biting her lip and glancing at the right side of this face where he knew the three vertical scars to be.

But he shrugged off her concern about it and said, “It feels fine. What's another scar anyway? What I want to know is what that was.”

“Oh that?” She asked while scratching the back of her head with an embarrassed smile. “That's just a little residual power from when I was alive. It became easier to control after I died though. Funny, huh?”

“So nobody here has trained you or taught you how to do that?” He questioned further.

She shook her head. “No, it just started coming to me more naturally than when I was alive. All I really have to do now is think about what I want to do and it does it.”

Hisagi looked at her with bewilderment. “Then why haven't you tried to join the academy? You could become a shinigami. The pay is good and you could get out of this place; quit living in the attic above a bar.”

The more Kagome thought about it, the way he put it did make it sound better than what she had now, but she knew that it wasn't something easy. “Shuuhei…I understand where you're coming from. But I like it here. I spent my life fighting and running and chasing and I'm tired. Now I just want to be around people and laugh and live. Maybe even someday I'll find love again and I'll settle down to have a family. But for now this is perfect.”

Hisagi was surprised by what she had said. To his knowledge she hadn't died all that long ago. Was the living world really still so dangerous? From what he had seen recently things looked fairly peaceful for the normal humans who weren't involved with spirits and the like. But that was a question for another time.

He was about to ask again why she would want to stay in the Rukongai when he noticed that she was still staring at his scars with a thoughtful expression. It made him feel a little self-conscious and he made to turn that side of his face away from her when her hand shot out to capture his chin. “No!” She cried without thinking and was obviously embarrassed by the outburst when a hand flew to her mouth and her cheeks went red. “I…I mean…umm……crap.”

Hisagi almost laughed at how flustered she was becoming and decided to tease her a little. “What is it, Kagome? Do you like my scars? I know girls think they're cool, but try to contain yourself.”

Kagome gaped at him before blushing even darker and giving his shoulder a shove. “I was just wondering!”

Now he was curious. “Wondering what?” He asked.

“Well,” she started as she avoided eye contact. “Stuff like how you got them, if they hurt…if I could touch them…” she listed while mumbling the last part.

Hisagi almost laughed, but seeing how much Kagome was blushing he decided to give her a break. “Knock yourself out,” he said leaning back slightly.

He watched as she stared at him for a moment before biting her lip and lifting a hand to inch towards his face. Soft fingertips met his skin as she began to trace the lines that had become one of his more defining features. He was beginning to relax under her touch when she spoke.

“You didn't answer my other questions…” Her voice was soft and slightly distant as though she were thinking to herself much more than speaking to him.

Thinking back to what she had asked, he answered, “I got them when I was still in the academy; we were on a training exercise to the living world but things went bad. And they don't really hurt, but sometimes they're sensitive to heat and cold.”

“I have one like that!” Kagome announced unexpectedly. “It was sensitive for the longest time, but now it's just with temperatures.”

Hisagi frowned. The idea of something harming Kagome enough to leave a scar didn't sit well with him. “What kind of scar?” He asked cautiously despite the fact that she seemed comfortable with the subject.

“When I was alive I was attacked by this big centipede demon! She bit into my side while she was trying to get something, and when it healed there was this big scar. Do you want to see?” She asked with large eyes.

Before he could even answer she was pulling up the hem of her kimono to expose her hip to him. He was going to protest until he saw the scar that she was talking about and all of his attention was drawn to it instead. It was large and rough around the edges. A heavy weight settled in his stomach as anger filled him. “Kagome…was this what killed you?” The question left a bad taste in his mouth, but part of him simply needed to know.

Kagome watched him for a minute as he looked at the scar warningly as though it were going to bite her. “No, not by a long shot. This was actually my first scar.”

Hisagi looked shocked for a brief moment but didn't say anything. Slowly, he reached out a hand and brushed his fingers against the scar tissue. It was tighter and didn't seem as smooth as the surrounding skin. The pinkish area stood out greatly in the dimly lit room probably making it much more prominent than it actually was.

His fingers continued to explore the area, much like she had done with his face. The higher on the mark he went, the more she would giggle. She seemed to fidget more the closer he would go to her him. But he found he liked it best when he would feel the soft shudder she gave as he moved towards her back.

He knew better than anyone that a person's scars weren't an imperfection or defect; they were visual memories. Every scar had a story and a memory to accompany it. And as Hisagi's fingers continued to trace the almost jagged outline, Kagome's last words sank in a little more.

Looking at her he questioned, “This was your first scar?”

Nodding with a light blush, Kagome chirped, “That's right. I have several more though. Would you want to see those too?”

Her question had been completely innocent in and of itself, but all Hisagi could think about at the moment was getting the opportunity to explore Kagome's memories (and body) at the same time. As he nodded in answer to her question, he briefly wondered just how many scars she had.

Part of him hoped that it was enough to keep him there for the rest of the night.

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AN: Okay…wow. Longest one yet! This took on a complete mind of its own. I didn't really plan on it being this long! I like it alright though ^_^ What do you guys think?? Time to consult the handy-dandy list of who's up next in out line-up! -rummages around room while muttering about disorganization- Ah-ha! And next up we have: Gin! Until then, my lovelies! ;)