InuYasha Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Unexpected Ally ❯ No Vacation Part 1 ( Chapter 6 )

Unexpected Ally

 

Disclaimer: YYH belongs to Yoshihiro Tagashi; IY belongs to Rumiko Takahashi; Unfortunately, I am neither one of them!

 

Chapter 6: No Vacation Part 1

 

Yuusuke entered the hotel suite he was sharing with his friends, and closed the door with a sigh of exhaustion.

 

“Well, the girls are finally settled into their room,” he remarked to his roommates tiredly, flopping onto his back on the couch in the living room area of the suite. “Kuwabara should be back in a few minutes from getting bawled out by Shizuru for complaining about her amount of luggage again.”

 

The hotel room was really more of a penthouse, with four separate bedrooms, a

living area, a full kitchen area, and two bathrooms; but it was actually only one of the hotel's premium suites. The penthouses were two floors above theirs in the skyscraper-like resort hotel, and were extremely more luxurious than the detectives' room.

 

Hiei rolled his eyes at the human boy, glanced at Kurama, and turned back to watching the rain that had just started to fall outside their wall of windows.

 

“Do you think it's wise for them to be here, Yuusuke?” Kurama asked.

 

“No,” Yuusuke answered with a grumble, his eyes closed underneath the arm he had draped over his face to block out the lighting in the room, “but it's not like I have much choice. You know how Keiko is. That girl can be as stubborn as me! At least Shizuru decided to come along, though; I know she'll do her part to keep Keiko safe while I'm not around.”

 

“Yes, that's true. Kuwabara Shizuru can be quite the force to be reckoned with.”

 

Yuusuke groaned out another deep sigh, remembering how he had been forced to tell Keiko about his new mission and to, subsequently, bring her along.

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

After a fruitless search of the area picked up by the Reiki Monitor, Yuusuke, Kuwabara and Kurama had gone back to Tokyo to pack for their stay at the beach. Hiei claimed he had all he needed, and had stayed at the hotel. They weren't sure how long they would have to be there, so they were going to prepare for the duration of their summer holiday; approximately two more weeks.

 

Just as Yuusuke was reaching for his doorknob to leave, his packed bag thrown over his shoulder, there was a banging knock on the door, accompanied with cries of, “Yuusuke, you better answer this door right now and give me a good reason for missing our date last night!” One guess who it was.

 

Yuusuke tried to dodge Keiko's questions about where he was going, and may have been successful in leaving her in the dark, and in Tokyo, if Botan hadn't chosen just that time to pop in and ask if he was ready to go. Of course, this had made it obvious that Yuusuke had a mission from Koenma, and Keiko insisted on coming along to keep an eye on Puu. Kami knows the spirit beast served a great purpose, but was often left behind in the midst of things if Keiko was not there to give him the attention he deserved. In fact, Keiko normally kept Puu at her house for just that reason, but if Yuusuke was going on a dangerous mission it would be better for the blue, bird-like creature to be closer to Yuusuke, in order to alert those around him to danger involving the detective.

 

All manner of protesting was lost on Keiko, and Yuusuke soon decided to bite his tongue when he noticed a dangerous look coming into his girlfriend's eyes. Finally, he'd conceded to her demands, letting her stop off at her home to pack before meeting up with his friends at Kuwabara's. When Shizuru found out Keiko's plan of tagging along, she decided she might as well come along to help keep her out of danger. She did, after all, have a sense about those things.

 

Learning of the two girls' added company, Kuwabara had begun lamenting about Yukina not being there. The line was drawn at the inclusion of the ice maiden, however, since Yuusuke and Kurama knew Hiei would not want his sister around the potential danger they would be in. Giving an excuse to Kuwabara about Yukina having shrine duties at Genkai's temple, the two boys convinced their friend it was for the best.

 

Botan decided to stay with the two girls at the hotel, in order to be on-hand for emergency contact to Reikai should the need arise for the detective team. All three girls, along with Puu, were able to get a room right down the hall from their male companions, and were now settling into their new accommodations.

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

“How long are we expected to stay cooped up in here?” Hiei questioned, his scowl not leaving the view of the pouring rain. How he wished he could leap from the window and attend to his own matters, rather than being stuck inside on assignment with the other Spirit Detectives.

 

Pulling out of his reverie, Yuusuke answered, “However long it takes to complete the mission, I guess. Hopefully that won't be too long, `cause Keiko will skin me alive if we miss the first day back to school. Even so, I hope nothin' happens `til this rain clears, `cause, man, I don't wanna be out in that.”

 

“Hn,” Hiei scoffed at that. He would much rather be soaking in the rain than stuck in this building full of ningen, but orders were orders. No matter how much he despised being at the mercy of Reikai, it was better than what would be in store for him if he went on the run again. He resigned himself to the fact that he'd have to put up with it for now, and retired to his room for some solitude.

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

The rain just kept coming down. Through the night and into the next day, the showers not only continued, but grew even more stormy, preventing practically all outside activities. It even hindered the scouting of the Reikai Tantei; not that there had been much to do, as things had been pretty quiet on the radar.

 

The day had begun with the usual spike in reiki and immediate drop in youki (Kurama had asked Botan to inform Koenma to watch for that), but no youkai breakthroughs or any other disturbances were picked up. Hiei had actually volunteered to check the area out when the reiki first spiked, but his search came up empty and he was forced to return to the confines of the hotel room.

 

The rest of the day was filled with random activities to pass the time. Kuwabara and Yuusuke had spent a few hours in the hotel gym, lifting weights and sparring. Hiei had found an empty kendo practice room and brought out his katana. Kurama stayed in the room reading. Botan and the girls, having not spent much time together in a long time, spent the morning hours playing with Puu, gossiping and catching up.

 

Around lunchtime, all three girls dragged the boys away from their various activities to have lunch in the hotel restaurant. Hiei tried to duck out before they were seated, but Shizuru and Botan caught the hybrid by each arm before he could dash off and insisted he join them for the meal. He had tried to wrench free from their grip, and had been surprised by the combined strength of the girls. He could've still broke free, but it may have caused serious damage to the mortal girl, Shizuru, which Reikai would certainly not take lightly; therefore, Hiei had given in and joined his team for their meal.

 

Afterwards, they all gathered in the boys' room to hang out until dinner, which was ordered through room service and eaten around the coffee table. As the night came to a close, Yuusuke tried to convince Keiko to stay with him in his room, earning him a smack and a shout of “Hentai!” before the girl stomped off to her own room with her female companions.

 

“Well, it was worth a shot,” Yuusuke said with a slight grin, rubbing his cheek and causing his fellow roommates to sweatdrop. It also sparked a lecture from Kuwabara about Codes of Honor and having respect for a lady, which further sparked his rambling on and on about “his Yukina-san.”

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

Kagome closed her Math book, setting it on top of her stack of school books, and stretched in her seat at the kitchen table, yawning. She rubbed her eyes, tired from the strain of studying all day, and looked around for the locations of her housemates. Juri was studying in her room, as usual; Souta and his friends were playing video games, just as they had been for the last eleven hours; Inuyasha was yet to be found. Kagome had searched every room, and finally decided to check the porch for the inu-hanyou. She smiled as she finally found her silver-haired friend sitting cross-legged on the porch, staring out at the rain. The wind of the storm had died down a bit, and the thunder was further away than it had been, making the atmosphere of the storm quite soothing.

 

“Hey, Inuyasha,” Kagome greeted him, abandoning her house slippers to pad barefoot across the damp wood of the porch.

 

He looked up at her as she approached him. “Hey, Kagome,” he responded, watching her sit next to him, legs out in front of her as she leaned back onto her hands.

 

“Whatcha doin' out here, Inuyasha?”

 

Inuyasha turned his gaze back out to the surrounding woods. With the dying down of the wind, the rain was merely a light patter through the canopy of the trees. “Just thinkin',” came the boy's reply. Things had been so busy around him lately that he hadn't had time to return to his introspection of just a few days ago. With the laziness of the day, however, and Kagome's lack of attention to him due to her studies, he had gone back to his thoughts of wonder and regret over things in the past that could not be changed.

 

Kagome felt a little uneasy at the sullen tone in his reply. She nudged him with her shoulder, “Hey, you sound so serious. Something wrong?” She had a feeling she knew which way his thoughts had turned, and knew it wouldn't be good to let him dwell on it on his own.

 

Inuyasha looked at the concerned expression on his friend's face and knew that she knew he was thinking about Kikyou. He knew it probably hurt her to know he was still dwelling on the memories of her past incarnation, but he couldn't help it. He still had grief to deal with. He didn't feel ready to bring everything up again, though, and opted for denial. “No, Kagome, I'm fine.” He smiled at her, hoping she would drop it.

 

Kagome took the hint, and left the subject alone for now. They sat there for awhile in silence, watching and listening to the rain, enjoying each other's company. The simple act of being near Kagome seemed to distract Inuyasha and change his thoughts from their depressing subject to one that left him slightly confused. He always felt so happy around Kagome, and he knew he felt more towards her than simple friendship; but he wasn't sure if it was because of her or the thought of whose reincarnation she was that truly brought out those feelings. He knew it wouldn't be fair to her if he used her as a replacement for Kikyou, but he couldn't help but be drawn to her. Until he could decipher his own feelings, he knew he shouldn't change anything about their relationship. With this thought, Inuyasha heaved a sigh of frustration and stood up to go inside before Kagome could ask him what's wrong again.

 

Kagome followed him with her head, a questioning look on her face, “Inuyasha?”

 

“Is it time for dinner yet? I'm hungry!”

 

Kagome smiled, standing to follow him inside. “Sure, Inuyasha, it is pretty late, isn't it? The boys are probably starving.” She walked ahead of him into the kitchen and fished out some packages from the cupboard, holding them up when he walked in after her. “Ramen?” she asked with a knowing smile. Inuyasha went to get his fan club as Kagome prepared their dinner of ramen and rice.

 

That night, as Kagome slept, Inuyasha found himself watching her once again, his ponderings from earlier again taking space in his mind.

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

“I thought tsuyu was over. What's with the non-stop storm?” Yuusuke complained, glaring out at the still-pouring rain the next morning. Here they were, on assignment at a beach resort, and he'd been stuck inside a lousy hotel for two days straight.

 

“Technically it is over, Yuusuke, but you know that doesn't mean there won't still be the occasional shower.” Kurama informed the boy.

 

Yuusuke merely grunted his dissatisfaction and slumped onto the couch just as Hiei jumped into the room through the window he'd just been glaring out of. “Anything?”

 

“Another pointless search,” the drenched fire demon answered with a shake of his head, sending tiny droplets of water splattering from his still-spiky hair.

 

“Great, so another slow start to an even slower day,” Yuusuke groaned, “Why won't this rain stop? An assignment on the beach and I don't even get to enjoy it! I'm so bored!”

 

Hiei glared at the boy, “We're not here for you to take a vacation, ningen. We're here to find the source of this unidentified reiki and bring it to Koenma for questioning.”

 

Yuusuke scowled at Hiei, “I know that, Hiei! That doesn't mean we wouldn't be able to enjoy the beach, as well! Nothing new has happened, and Keiko's giving up her vacation to keep an eye on me. The least I could do is make the most of our downtime!” With that, the black-haired detective left the room in favor of his girlfriend's company.

 

`You know you're just as bored here as he is, Hiei,' Kurama spoke into his friend's mind.

 

 

`Hn,' Hiei thought back, `that doesn't mean I'll put up with his constant complaining. He thinks he can take advantage of the situation to take his little girlfriend on a beach vacation. He needs to keep his attention on our assignment so we can complete it and get back to our lives.'

 

`He never intended for Keiko to come along, and you know that. I don't blame him for wanting to spend some time with her while we're here, though. It is an opportunity that I imagine is hard for him to pass up.'

 

Hiei glared at Kurama for a moment before leaving for the kendo practice rooms. The kitsune was mostly right, but that didn't mean he had to admit it; Yuusuke was still annoying.

 

“Okay, Yuusuke, ready to get your butt whooped?” Kuwabara called out as he came out of his room, carrying a box full of video games. They'd challenged each other to a few games the night before, but Kuwabara had just gathered the games together when he woke up a few minutes ago. Kuwabara stopped as he stepped into the living room, looking around for his rival. “Oi, Kurama, where'd he go?”

 

“I imagine he's gone to be with Keiko,” Kurama answered from behind his book.

 

“Oh,” Kuwabara started to look gloomy, most likely thinking of Yukina once more, but perked up again as he had a new thought. “Oi, Kurama, you wanna challenge me? I bet I can whoop you, too!” he exclaimed, grinning toothily.

 

Kurama quirked his brow so that Kuwabara could see it from behind the book he was holding. `A challenge?' He didn't normally play the fighting games that Yuusuke and Kuwabara were into, preferring games involving strategy and problem-solving, but a little change of pace might not be a bad thing; especially if it kept Kuwabara from starting another Yukina-rant. Kurama set his book down and agreed to his friend's request.

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

The sun finally came out that afternoon and quickly heated up to dry the resort town. Kurama and Kuwabara decided to abandon their tournament, Kurama having been on a rather long winning streak, to take a walk on the boardwalk. Apparently, many other vacationers had the same idea, as the streets were crowded with people. Kurama and Kuwabara slowly made their way through the crowds to find a restaurant and catch an early dinner. They settled on an outdoor café, and were seated at a table to wait for their waitress. Both boys took to watching the passing boardwalk population as they waited, having decided on their orders already.

 

Suddenly, Kurama caught a glimpse of someone through the crowd and tried to follow her through the passersby with his gaze. The streets were still quite crowded, and the most he could see were glimpses of long, raven hair and creamy skin in a pink sundress. Everytime the crowd moved so he could see her face, she would turn away towards her silver-haired companion. Kurama was surprised to realize that the thought of her male companion made him jealous. He'd never had such feelings of jealousy before; especially over some girl he'd never met, whose face he couldn't even see.

 

Something about her seemed to draw him to her, however, and even Youko was curious enough to encourage Kurama to abandon his meal and go after her. Questioning his own sanity, the crimson-locked kitsune-boy finally gave in to the overwhelming pull and stood to make his way through the crowd. During his brief moment of indecision, however, he had lost sight of the girl in the crowd. Youko was not to be deterred from his quest, though, as he simply had to know why this girl seemed so special above all the others that followed his human host around. With the added mental push, Kurama continued to make his way through the crowd.

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

“Oi, Kurama, where you goin'?” Kuwabara called after his friend. He got no answer, though, as Kurama was concentrating hard on something in the crowd. Shrugging his shoulders, Kuwabara dug into his meal, knowing that if Kurama wasn't back before he was finished, the fox's meal was up for grabs.

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

`This is nice,' Kagome thought to herself as she strolled down the boardwalk with Inuyasha. She didn't know what had prompted him to suggest they take a walk together, but she wasn't about to protest. They'd been cooped up with a houseful of kids for almost two days straight, and it was nice to spend some time alone together, even if they were surrounded by people on the boardwalk.

 

They'd been walking for awhile, Kagome pulling Inuyasha into random shops and Inuyasha fully enjoying checking out the trinkets for sale, though he didn't let on about them. Every once in awhile, Kagome would look over at him, just to assure herself that he was really there and had really asked her to spend time with him. Each and every time she looked at him, he'd look right back with a small smile, and she could tell that he was actually enjoying her company.

 

“Ne, Inuyasha, want to get some dinner?”

 

“Sure,” he answered, just as she knew he would. So off they went towards a nearby ramen shop. The shop sold other food as well, but their ramen was what they were known for.

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

Inuyasha had spent half the night last night considering his feelings towards Kagome. He hadn't been able to come to any definite conclusion, other than the fact that he'd better figure himself out before he hurt her. He'd decided that the best way to know for sure would be to spend more time alone with her and really get to know her better. He'd been taking her constant presence for granted, he realized, and hadn't even taken advantage of all that time to truly find out about her. That was how the idea of the walk had come about. It felt natural for him to spend hours walking beside Kagome, as that's what they spent most of their time in the Sengoku Jidai doing, so he thought that would be the best idea for both of them to be comfortable.

 

The walk through the woods and along the beach had turned into an all-out excursion into the resort town and along the boardwalk. They walked side-by-side, occasionally ducking into a shop for Kagome to show him some neat little thing from her time. He knew she was probably wondering where his sudden interest in spending time alone with her came from, and couldn't help but smile at the curious looks she kept giving him. When she suggested food to him, he was more than appreciative, since it'd been awhile since they'd eaten. They'd actually been walking mostly in silence together for a few hours, he realized, talking only a bit here and there when looking at things in the shops. It had been comfortable silence, however, and he didn't regret it.

 

As they neared the restaurant area of the boardwalk, Inuyasha began to smell something suspicious. He grabbed Kagome's hand in case they needed to make a run for it, causing her to look at him in concern of his abrupt action. He saw her eyes widen as realization hit her, and they both slowed their pace a bit in order to have a better sense of their surroundings. Kagome's eyes darted out amongst the crowd in search of something that shouldn't be there, but found nothing. Turning back to Inuyasha, she saw the same look in his eyes.

 

“I sense a youkai, but I don't see anything, do you?” Kagome whispered just loud enough for Inuyasha's ears to pick it up under his bandana.

 

“I don't see anything, but I definitely smell something. Maybe two different ones. It smells…kinda like a fox…and something else. There's too many smells here to figure it out.”

 

“Yeah, and all these different people are throwing my concentration off. I can't tell where the sensation's coming from. The youki seems similar to what I felt in the alley the other day, but it's different somehow.”

 

“Let's go somewhere less crowded and get our bearings better.”

 

Kagome nodded and squeezed his hand in answer before Inuyasha pulled her quickly through the crowd, around the corner and towards a more secluded part of town. They did not slow down, however, as the presence looming in their awareness seemed to be following them. Inuyasha led Kagome through a series of twists and turns, finding his way to a deserted part of town near the residential area, and finally stopping in yet another alley.

 

“I don't smell the fox smell anymore, but there's still another one, Kagome.”

 

Inuyasha sounded worried. Kagome knew he was probably thinking of the attack just the other day. “I feel it, too, Inuyasha. It's about as powerful as that salamander, I think. The one we lost was much stronger, though, so at least we only have to deal with this one.”

 

“Yeah,” the hanyou agreed, putting his hand to the hilt of Tetsusaiga, while keeping his other hand in a deathgrip on Kagome. “No sense in putting this off any longer. This bastard's goin' down…” `Interrupting my time with Kagome; and we were about to eat, too. This guy's got it comin'.'

 

“Inuyasha, try your claws first. Remember, there's houses around us.”

 

Inuyasha growled at the necessary limitations that came with keeping his identity secret in Kagome's time, but obediently locked his sword back in and readied his claws. He let go of Kagome so he wouldn't claw her, but was determined to keep an eye on her. Finally, after what seemed like endless minutes, the youkai they were awaiting dropped in on them. He looked human; the only signs that gave him away were his pointy demon ears, his beady red eyes peering out from under shaggy green hair, and the forked tongue snaking out between his fangs as he brandished his claws.

 

“Stay back, Kagome,” Inuyasha warned, pushing her behind a nearby dumpster. Turning back to the youkai, he growled out, “I don't know what you want, asshole, but you're not gonna get it if I have anything to say about it!” With that he jumped at the demon yelling, “Sankontessou!”

 

The demon leapt out of the way effortlessly, and immediately countered with his own claw attack. Inuyasha tried to dodge, but was caught on his right arm, receiving four deep muscle-tearing gashes into his triceps and part of his bicep and rendering the arm useless until it healed. Dark blood ran down his arm and soaked the white T-shirt he wore.

 

“Foolish hanyou, you will not stand in my way. I shall have the jewel!” The youkai ran towards him again, trying for another swipe, but Inuyasha effectively evaded him, leaping back at least 30 feet.

 

“Keh, you're the fool if you think this is enough to stop me!” The inu-hanyou attacked with a one-handed “Sankontessou!”, but the green-haired youkai simply leapt back and started running towards a nearby ballfield. Inuyasha ran after him, digging his claws into the flesh of his own chest to coat them in blood as he yelled, “Hijinkessou!” and flung his Blades of Blood at the youkai. Finally, his attack made contact, severing one of the demon's arms and slicing deep wounds into his belly and chest. Mr. Green Hair was knocked to the ground from the force and pain of Inuyasha's attack, but was soon struggling back up to his feet, even as his blood pooled around him. A sly smile crept onto his face, and he leered at Inuyasha, before a large black hole began growing out of thin air beside him. He stepped into it, picking up his severed arm before he did so. Inuyasha tried to run after him, but the hole was closed within the blink of an eye.

 

`What was the point of going to all that trouble just to run away?' Inuyasha thought to himself. Suddenly, realization dawned on him. He ran back to the alley he had left Kagome in to keep her safe, hoping against hope that his suspicions were false. Coming upon his destination, his heart sank and he felt sick as, no matter how hard he looked, he was greeted with a completely empty alleyway.

 

End Chapter 6

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Words First Appearing in Chapter Six:

ne: informal interjection with many uses; can be translated as “right” or “isn't it?” or “hey”, among other things

Hijinkessou: Blades of Blood

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MM.org review replies:

 

HIEI LOVERS: As usual, I'm so happy to have you as a reader/reviewer. And, the “Reviews are like chocolate to a fic-ka” remark just meant that fanfic authors (fic-ka) love getting reviews, they're like a special treat (chocolate) and we eat them up!!

 

Aniphx: Awww! *wipes tear from eye* Dude, you are too awesome to me, Inspector! I'm so lucky to have you at ICAF!! It's so coolzies that you put specific things that you liked in your review. ^________^ *snuggles Inspector Aniphx*

 

FF.net review replies:

 

moonlightassassin: Happy you like it. I do my best to update as quickly as possible.

 

Kagome-reincarnation: Yikes! I swear I'll update as fast as possible, please don't strangle me… or OR ELSE me either! lol ^_____^

 

montrith:*snuggles your review* OMGoddess! That's some serious fic-ka chocolate! I love long reviews!! The way you described your disappointment in most crossover fics was awesomely put, and so I feel the need to quote it here: “You see so many “magical mirror/teacup/crystal/monkey/box of wheetos transports insert-character-name-here to Sengoku Jidai/Makai/Modern Tokyo where they meet Inugang/Spirit Detectives” fics that it makes you want to cry.” That is so true, and I'm so glad to not be put in that group with this fic. I know I'm not the greatest writer in the world, but I started this fic cuz I felt there just aren't enough well-thought-out crossover fics with actual plots, and I thought I had one that may not have been seen before (hopefully…well, I've never seen it, at least…). As for the pairing, I do know who it will be in the end, but it may not be obvious until near the middle-to-end… and that's the most you'll get out of me for now. ^____~

 

John Walker: Ah, you can resist all you want, but you know you've slipped up and said the Japanese before. ^_______~ Even so, you know one thing we look forward to most in storytime is your made up words/names! They're better than the real ones usually. I mean, come on, what's storytime without us having “bustin' our guts, chokin' on cocoa puffs, sufferin' a coughing fit, unable to breath, breakin' our jaw from laughter” fits? Heheheh… Welcome back, by the way… hope you had fun on your top-secret excursion… ^_____________^

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As usual, please read and review! ^_________^