InuYasha Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Such a Small World ❯ Chapter Twelve ( Chapter 12 )

Chapter Twelve

 

A smirk formed onto his lips as his mind once more went back to his encounter with Keiko. She had not remembered him completely—though she had seemed to look as if she had was beginning to a few times. He had doubted she would as soon as he decided to walk into the bakery, determined to speak with her, but it had turned out better than he had hoped. She might not remember him, but she had seemed to be comfortable in his presence. Besides, in a small way her not remembering anything about him could work to his advantage, since he could start anew, giving her an even brighter image than he was sure he showed the first time.

 

Kurama was very pleased, as well, with the fact that she was taking the situation much better than he had thought. It meant that he could subtly hint toward it when he was spending time with her, slowly planting the seeds as he wished them to be, without being yelled at or hit for being insensitive. Personally, he had no thoughts of comforting a crying woman while he was trying to woo her gently, taking her heart inch by inch out of Urameshi Yusuke's grasp. No, he wished to play a beautiful, yet subtle, game of seduction that would eventually give him what he wanted from the woman that captivated him.

 

Of course, he knew that his conscience would come into play sooner or later. He was, after all, trying to take another man's wife, though in truth he truly did not think Yusuke deserved such a fine woman at his side. The man obviously did not think. However, that did not mean that he was not human and would not eventually think of the consequences that might come from playing such a game.

 

There was the possibility that Keiko, in the end, would choose Yusuke again. His world would not end, he had never truly had her in the first place, but he was sure that the ache that had formed in his chest before would return. She might never see him as a friend again, which was why his game needed to be very subtle until she asked for something more, or decided once and for all that Yusuke was not for her. There was also the chance that Yusuke might, just might, actually get over his stubbornness, see what he was throwing away, and come crawling back to the wife he so carelessly tossed aside. He was not worried about Yusuke hurting him badly, but he had no intentions of ending up in a jail cell simply because Yusuke could not keep his temper at a low.

 

He knew that he was playing a dangerous game, treading onto ground that many would not try to, but he was already imagining the prize at the end—if he won, that was. A beautiful treasure; something that he simply would not pass up a second time, and slightly regretted handing over to his friend the first time. That prize, in his opinion, would be a glorious one, and he simply could not pass up the opportunity a second time, not after hearing what Yusuke had done. It was a prize; a treasure; a woman that he was willing to try to claim, no matter how dangerous things became, because he had a strong feeling that he would win.

 

However, he paused for a short moment when he realized that he had referred to Yusuke as his friend. Yes, if Yusuke saw the error of his ways and never did such a thing again, he might still allow himself to call him friend, but there were other things to consider. He had known Hiei for far longer, and he knew as soon as Hiei had stormed into his house and told—though, it was actually yelled—him of the crime Yusuke had committed that Hiei had terminated his friendship with the man. Yusuke was technically his friend still, though he had harmed Keiko emotionally, but at this moment he knew he should not consider Yusuke such, unless he wished to once more step aside for his friend. No, Yusuke was competition at the moment, his enemy, and his eyes shined at having such an opponent.

 

It would make the chase all the more thrilling; to know that he was competing against the man who held the heart he wanted so badly. Yes, he knew that he could sway Keiko's affections, win her heart for himself, but that did not mean it would be so easily won. Her love for Yusuke, the fact that she had given her heart to the man who ended up cheating on her, would make the chase more challenging. Yusuke, even if he did not know it, was making the game he played so much fun, even if it was only beginning.

 

But, even if this was only the beginning; in the end he was positive he would sweep Keiko off her feet.

 

Turning his thoughts away from the end that might be so near, he wondered how Keiko had found out so much information on her own already. It was obvious from her words that she knew that Yusuke had cheated on her with Kagome, thus pulling her away from her faithfulness to Hiei. He wondered, however, if she knew her name, and who it was that told her the information in the first place. He doubted it was Yukina, since it had not been that long ago since it had all started and Yukina normally did not listen to rumors—which he was sure were already roaming around, no matter how secretive they tried to be. The only reason he could even think Yukina would have been able to tell her anything was if she had known Kagome's name, but where had she gotten it from?

 

Frowning, he wondered if there was something more that had informed Keiko of Yusuke's cheating ways. It was obvious that she had known about them, or she would not have gone to stay with Yukina and work in her shop with her, instead choosing to stay with her husband and daughter. He had planned to tell her, gently if he had to, but finding out that she knew could work to his advantage. However, it was still a mystery as to how she knew anything, since she had seemed to have a complete grasp on the entire situation.

 

There were a few things that he could think of at the moment that could have lead to her finding out, one of which was Hiei had already gotten his hands onto Yusuke and Yusuke had come home beaten. He was sure that Keiko would insist that Yusuke tell her how it had happened and then everything had most likely spiraled downward from there, Yusuke finally blurting out that he had slept with a woman named Kagome, whose boyfriend beat him up. However, Yusuke did not seem that stupid, no matter how much of what he said did not process in his brain first. He doubted that Yusuke had been the one to tell her, though it could explain a few things.

 

Another possibility was that one of Keiko's friends had seen Yusuke entering the place he had taken Kagome to and told her. She would have confronted Yusuke on the fact that he had entered a place with a woman her friend had not known, and apparently neither did she. Yusuke would have probably defended himself before finally yelling that he had fucked her, and asking if Keiko was happy afterward. Yukina, again, could have been able to tell her that she knew a woman named Kagome, who she was dating, but she would not have been able to confirm anything without a last name or description.

 

It was that key fact that blew both possibilities out of the water, since he doubted Yusuke would have told Keiko Kagome's full name. He knew him, and knew that he would not have used so many words when he was angry. And, he seriously doubted that Yusuke had told her anything while in the right state of mind or without anger riding beneath its wings. Yusuke was an idiot sometimes, but he was not a fool to ruin his own life purposely.

 

So, what was it that had ended with Keiko knowing so much? Kurama narrowed his eyes. What was he missing?

 

OoO

 

He groaned, popping another pill into his mouth. After washing it down with some water, he hoped that the eight hundred milligrams he had taken would reduce some of the pain he was filling. His jaw had swollen further, and his leg felt like electricity was shooting through it every time he tried to place his weight upon it. He wondered for a brief moment if those freaks had broken his leg—he was pretty certain Hiei had broken his jaw, and he had broken his hand smashing the bathroom mirror. Damn it, his cuts were beginning to heal over, but this was just fucking great in his opinion—not.

 

He was certain that while he was sitting around hoping that his wounds would heal faster that something was happening. Something that he didn't want to happen; something very, very bad, and he was certain that either Hiei, Kurama, or Keiko was in the center of it all. Hiei because the man was probably thinking of every possible way under the sun to beat the shit out of him; Kurama because he was probably devising some cunning plan in order to win Keiko's heart; and Keiko because she was probably thinking about how to get even with him. All of the options were not something that he wanted to think about, but he knew that the world outside his home was turning, moving without him as he recovered.

 

A slight groan escaped his lips as he pressed a button on the remote, changing the channel once more on the TV. He ended up with some martial arts movie, and at the moment he really did not care for it. He clicked the button once more, watching as the television screen flickered once more and an anime show popped onto the screen. His lips turned slightly downward, remembering when Rini would jump up and down begging him to watch some of her favorites with her. He missed that; he wanted that back.

 

Reaching up and moving his swollen jaw between his fingers, Yusuke sighed. His wounds weren't going to heal as fast as he wished they would—he also glanced at the screen and watched an anime character heal her friend with a simple touch of her hand, which made him even angrier about it. However, his anger was not well placed, he knew that, which was why he let it go not soon afterward, giving another sigh. There was no reason to get angry at something that would not even response, or understand, or care—especially when that thing was not living.

 

Damn it, though, looking at the anime character making such a fuss over her friend's health made him wish that he hadn't pushed Keiko away. Then at least she would be at his side demanding who had hurt him and treating his wounds. She would make his day brighter, and his nights warmer, instead of the dull boredom and loneliness that was already beginning to leak into the house. His daughter would also fuss over him, crying about how she didn't like to see him hurt, and wanting to help her mother in the process of healing him. And, if he hadn't pushed her away—or at least seen that stupid camcorder—he would have his family, his love, and be happy, instead of whining inside of his head for his wife to return to him.

 

He loathed Higurashi Kagome at the moment. It was that stupid bitch's stunning beauty that had gotten him into this mess, since he probably wouldn't have approach her if she were ugly. Not to mention her temper, since he had liked the idea of being able to get a rise out of her before dominating her. Now, he was beginning to wonder if it was her stupid face that had made him think he needed more excitement in his life, since he had done just fine for five years. If it was, then this was all her fault.

 

In fact, it was her fault. She might act innocent, but he could bet that deep down she was delighting in the fact that Hiei was such a protective bastard and he found her first. She was probably laughing at him for the fact that Hiei had thrown that punch at him, and probably even more so now if she had been told that pretty boy and cross-dresser and gotten ahold of him. She was a she-devil in disguise; that was what she was. Luring him in with a glance and then ruining his life.

 

His anger toward her nearly died instantly. He knew that by screwing up his life—which probably hadn't been her intention—would have screwed up hers, no matter how angry she had been with Hiei at the time. He knew that she was actually a really nice girl, since he had watched her from the corner of his eye whenever he visited Hiei, and he knew that she wasn't a she-devil in disguise. But, damn it, it was hard not to try and place the blame on her shoulders, since it was her condition that had caused Hiei to punched him and probably for those freaks to attack him, too. She seriously needed to stop attracting such weird ass people to herself.

 

Cursing under his breath, wishing he hadn't thought of it in the first place, he wondered what Keiko was doing at the moment. She was probably sitting by a window wondering what he was doing. He was certain that she was trying everything in her power in order to stay away from him, though he had no doubt she would do it for months. However, once more he wished that she would suddenly ring the doorbell and then come inside, see him, and rush to his side, blurting out questions as she apologized for walking out on him.

 

Damn it, he wanted to hear her say that she wanted to make their relationship work. Yes, he had done some pretty dumb shit in his life, and it was true that he had screwed up a few times with her, but she had never done this to him. He was positive that in her mind this had been the last straw, but he wanted to hear her at least yell at him. He missed her so much, and hated himself for trying to find a little excitement to keep their relationship going, since he shouldn't have had to need it in the first place—he understand that now. Plus, if she came to him that meant that he wouldn't need to try and hurt himself even more by going to her, which saved him the trouble.

 

Leaning his head back further, Yusuke allowed his eyes to close. He knew that, as he touched his leg once more, he might have to go to the hospital if the pain did not recede within the next few days. Perhaps his injury would help Keiko realize just how much he needed her, since he would have no one else to call once he was admitted. Kurama would most likely tell him that it was his own fault and hang up. Hiei would most likely tell him that if he ever called him again he would hunt him down no matter where he went and kill him. All his other friends; well, he didn't like them so much, or they were simply not the type to give a damn.

 

But, then again, he was sure that Keiko would tell him that if he wanted to talk to her, never letting him explain, that he would need to come to her before hanging up. However, hearing her voice might just help him in his recovery, since he was positive that nothing else would at the moment. He was already beginning to notice the dullness of life without her, and he felt the loneliness stab deep into his heart each time he thought about it. Even worse, he felt his heart break a little more when he wondered if she would ever forgive him, or at least allow him to explain why he had done it.

 

OoO

 

With a small movement of his hand his cell phone snapped closed, and he began to mutter to himself. Seriously, he did not understand why the hell the bitch needed him so much, when she had been talking about needing her space just the other day when he had tried to convince her to let him sleep with her. Still, he moved off the bed, and began to pull on his pants, knowing that his girl was watching him with a raised eyebrow, or tapping fingers. Hell, it wasn't his fault that the bitch had to call at the wrong moment—though, she didn't exactly know it was the wrong moment, he wasn't supposed to be between the sheets with another woman. But, damn it, he had been so close.

 

“I'm going to guess that that was Kagura on the phone?”

 

Turning his head, while button his jeans, he gave a nod. “Fucking bitch wants me to meet her at some café in twenty minutes,” he replied.

 

“And,” Kikyo asked annoyed, “why didn't you tell her `no'?”

 

“Because,” Inuyasha sighed, “I'm s'pposed to have dumped you, remember? Look, Kikyo, I'm sorry that I have to leave, I'll make it up to you later.” He managed to pull his shirt on, opening up the three buttons to show off a bit of his chest while he stared at his scowling girlfriend. Obviously she wasn't very happy about the fact that she would have to do the rest of the act by herself to get off, but he telling Kagura he couldn't come would have made her suspicious. The damn bitch was too suspicious in the first place; he didn't need any more pressure slamming down on him because of this.

 

“Fine,” Kikyo smiled a bit. “But, I probably won't be here if you managed to get away from Kagura and come back later. I'm planning on meeting a few of my friends for a quick drink. And, before you ask, it'll only be Ayako, Emiko, Hitomi, Miwa, and myself. We're not quite sure where we're going yet, but I doubt that it will matter, since we will most likely go to Emiko's to spend the rest of the night.”

 

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes. He didn't like Emiko, because the fucking bitch had lied to him at least twice in the past year. However, if the wench picked up the phone he would ask to speak with Hitomi, because she was the least likely to lie to him from what he knew. So, he nodded, and said, “Alright, if I can get away from her for more than five seconds I'll call.”

 

Kikyo nodded, “Of course. Feel free, I'm sure that Emiko won't mind.”

 

Giving another nod, Inuyasha leaned over and kissed Kikyo lightly on the forehead. It was a promise to finish what he had started, no matter how un-sexual it seemed. She understood and lightly trailed her fingers through his hair before he turned to go. “I'll see ya later,” Inuyasha smirked, and then left.

 

Kikyo allowed a small smirk to tilt on her lips. She knew her Inuyasha far too well, since she had a feeling he would wish to speak with Miwa or Hitomi when he called later—if he was able, that was. Sometimes she wondered why she wished to keep him, when he could be so dense at times, but she loved to wrap him around her finger again and again. After all, he did not need to know that Miwa and Hitomi were the two that were the most likely to lie for her, telling him that she was sleeping or passed out and would tell her in the morning he called. After all, her friends' loved to play the type of game she played, and if she called them all, she was positive that they would play along while she got a better catch.

 

However, her lips tilted downward slightly when she remembered the last time she had gone out. She had not only seen Onigumo—the bastard—, but she had hit on Kouga. She doubted that he remembered her from the last time she had seen him, but as soon as she had heard his name she had remembered him. He had remembered her as Inuyasha's girlfriend, but obviously he knew nothing else. Still, the business party that Inuyasha had to go to would be quite thrilling, since she would need to either come up with a story to tell Kouga if she got him alone, or avoid him at all costs. And, she was hoping that she would get to jump into a role for the second option.

 

OoO

 

His eyes turned toward the sky once more, before he glanced down at the watch on his wrist. It was beginning to get late, and he could not help but wonder how Kagome had faired without him for the day. He doubted that she had completely broken down, not with the fools and her sister there, but he was curious. After all, he knew that she was not well and she was constantly wondering if he was going to walk away from her. He needed to drive those thoughts from her head, but he was beginning to wonder if his method thus far was not the right one, since she seemed to think something was wrong with him.

 

He wasn't going to try and fool himself. He knew that he wasn't the best type of person to try and help her through this time, but damn it, he wasn't about to just let her go. He was not used to having to try and comfort anyone, not even himself, so he was beginning to wonder how he had made it this far. Sure, she seemed to like the fact that he was paying her more attention, physically at least, but she seemed to think ill of his motives. Her constant mentioning that he did not need to continue seeing her made him wonder what he was doing to make her think that, and thought that perhaps he should see Kurama once more.

 

He sighed. He hated seeing her so weak, but he knew that the woman he loved and adored was just hiding somewhere underneath the surface. He had seen her spark to the surface when she had heard him mention Urameshi's wife. That, and he had seen the devotion she had given him return completely to her when he had confronted Akitoki—he still smirked slightly when remembering the face Akitoki made when Kagome addressed him by his surname. He knew that eventually she would get better, he hoped beyond hope that she would, but he still had a sinking suspicion that he wasn't helping—at least not as much as he wanted to.

 

Yes, a visit to Kurama was definitely in order, even if it had not been that long since he had last seen him.

 

His pace quickened just a bit, however, after he glanced at his watch once more. Hiei scowled slightly when he realized how long it had taken him to run Sesshoumaru's errand, when he could have been spending his time with Kagome. It was true that he had to work to make money, but at the moment he would have rather been trying to help Kagome break through her current depression. Since he was now done with his task, nothing would stop him from returning to the woman that held his heart. She needed him, even if she thought that she was nothing more than trash, and he needed her.

 

Turning the corner, Hiei stopped when he heard a loud yowl, only to realize that he had stepped onto the tail of a small white and black kitten. The feline hissed at him, before scurrying away to try and make itself as small as possible against a building. He scowled at the animal, and began to walk once more. However, his eyes narrowed a bit when he remembered something, and turned to look back at the small animal. It was obvious that it was either a stray or someone had let it out of there home, to which it would most likely have some type of identification.

 

Moving back to the small animal, he watched as it scrunched up its back and hissed at him again. It did not seem to feral, but merely angry with him for having stepped on its tail. Quickly, he grabbed the kitten by the scruff of its neck, and lifted it up to his eye level. It glared at him with its blue eyes, its black tipped tail swinging back and forth in aggravation, though it made no move to release itself from his hold, going limp between his fingers. Turning the kitten to the left and then the right, Hiei determined that the animal did not have an owner—though there was a possibility it might even without a collar.

 

Besides, if it did have an owner then they were foolish for having let the animal out without identification in the first place. It was quite thin anyway, so he was sure that it had not been fed for quite some time without catching its own meal, which made him believe more that the animal did not have someone to take care of it. Finally, feeling he was correct in his assumption, he stood from his crouched position, and kept a tight hold on the kitten's neck, determined that it would not get away or scratch the hell out of him.

 

No one seemed to care as they passed him that he had even paid the slightest attention to the creature, as he had suspected in the first place. So, he lifted his other arm and placed the animal on it, feeling its tiny claws embed themselves into his arm, as he let go of its neck but kept a firm hold on its back to keep it from escaping. He had remembered the pictures of Kagome with her fat cat, the original Buyo, which hung in the hallway of the shrine. He had remembered hearing Kagome laugh whenever Sango mentioned something about one of her cats, and decided that this animal would be a good friend to her if it decided to stay on the shrine grounds.

 

Beginning to walk once more, feeling a little out of place with the small animal in his arms, he turned his arm slightly in order to glance again at his watch. He nearly faltered in step when he noticed how long it had taken him to decide whether or not to take this stupid animal to his girlfriend. He hoped that she appreciated it, because the stupid animal had taken away nearly fifteen minutes of his time, which was about how long it would take him to get to the shrine in the first place.

 

It was times like these that he wished he had driven instead of walked.

 

OoO

 

“Would you mind if I asked the name of such a beautiful woman?”

 

She smiled, nearly giddy for having caught the eye of such a fine looking man. Her game was going to be very, very interesting if he decided that he wanted to have a piece of her. Of course, she would have to make sure that he kept coming back, since he seemed like the type to jump from one woman to the next within a couple of days. “I would not mind at all,” she nearly giggled in anticipation. “My name is Kikyo. Sasaki Kikyo.”

 

He smirked, his beautiful eyes glimmering dangerously. “A beautiful name for a beautiful maiden,” he replied, taking her hand in his. He placed a small kiss on the back, while ignoring the giggles that came from women that wished to be in the place of the woman at his side.

 

Kikyo's own eyes twinkled. This man, at first, had seemed so much like her dense boyfriend. So much, except for the fact that he was much taller and had held himself in such a way that he could not possibly be related to Inuyasha—though, truly it had been hard to tell from the resemblance. Truly, if he wished to, though, he could pass as Inuyasha's brother, even if she knew no one would truly ever want to try. He was simply beautiful, however, much like Sesshoumaru had seemed before she had gotten to know him. A dangerous man.

 

“Is there something you like?” he asked, his face suddenly quite close to hers. He let out a small puff of air against her neck and listened to her sharp intake. She was quite responsive, he liked that—who knew, she might very well be the right woman to stand by his side, though he doubted it. He was a man of many tastes; he doubted that one woman would ever be able to hold his interest for more than a few weeks.

 

“Oh, yes,” Kikyo replied. It was almost a shame that she liked playing around behind Inuyasha's back, or she would have simply dropped him once she set sights on this wonderful specimen. Inuyasha would have whined and most likely wished to fight with this beautiful beast, but she doubted that he would be able to win from the way this man was built. A dangerous beauty that she was determined, at that very moment, would slip between her sheets more than once in order to participate in her game, even if he did not know it.

 

“Good,” he whispered, pulling back.

 

“Tell me,” Kikyo smiled, “what is your name, beautiful stranger?”

 

He smirked, showing off his white teeth, as he straightened himself. His posture was that of arrogance and authority, demanding that all who hear him bow to his glory. Of course, he would never give away his entire secret to one woman, but that did not mean that he would not at least give away his name. “My name?” he asked.

 

“Yes,” Kikyo nodded.

 

“My name is Youko.”

 

OoO

 

KibaSin: LaGasp! I really have nothing else to say, but “OMG it's YOUKO!” and… and KIKYO! GAH! But, it made for an interesting twist, since I need to make it more interesting with each chapter, right? Haha.

 

Kiba