InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Broken Fates ❯ Of Stalkers and Friends ( Chapter 21 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Chapter 21: Of Stalkers and Friends

Kin, I am so going to kill you!

Yasha had been dodging the girl his supposed best friend had tried to set him up with for days, now, and it was getting to the point that he was getting ready to ask his family for help in hiding from her.

Akina Takeshi was a nightmare of a woman - popular, she was considered quite beautiful, and was used to getting her own way.

Apparently, he was now what she wanted.

He was what she wasn't going to get.

But he considered one possible outcome of this whole mess that could have a very positive effect on the situation with Kagome.

Kagome tended to be very protective of those she cared for - and she was a fighter when necessary. He was seriously considering getting Shippo and going to her about the problem with Akina - see if she would help him out.

After all, even though it hadn't been spoken of in so many words, he knew that she knew how he felt about her, and he was hoping beyond hope that she would feel a little territorial over him.

With that thought in mind, he proceeded to slip out of his house the back way, just in case Akina was outside watching for him, and took off to Shippo's place, determined to get his opinion. After all, he had shown himself to be very good at getting Kagome to respond... he'd made more progress with her in one short day than all the rest of them had in weeks.

That thought sent a surge of jealousy through him, for a moment, as he realized that another male had the influence over her that he himself wished to have. His youkai side wasn't too thrilled about that, and snarled angrily, but he backed it down, forcing it to consider just why Kagome was the way she was.

Which only made the youkai snarl louder as it took him to task for his past life's betrayal of the female it saw as its own.

Of course, since Kikyou had also been Kagome's past life, the youkai side was correct, the female was theirs - but it was wrong, too, because in that sense, Inuyasha hadn't really betrayed their female.

And that made him think. He hadn't really thought of it that way before, but he could suddenly empathize with Inuyasha, in a way. How confusing to be faced with two different incarnations of your soul mate...

But he had still handled it wrong. There was just no getting around that.

At any rate, all that confusion could be thought about another time, he decided, as he came within sight of Shippo's place, and hastened his steps. What was up for now: how to get rid of a stalker.

---cCc---

Shippo listened to the story Yasha told him, then burst out laughing. "Hell, Yasha! You've got to be kidding me! Are you trying to tell me you're being stalked by a female? You?! A youkai?"

Yasha snarled at him, then looked away and grunted disgustedly. "You wouldn't think it was so funny if she was after you. The woman's a menace! I'm surprised someone hasn't gotten her arrested by now - the only reason I can think of is because most guys would be too embarrassed to call the police with a story like this! Must be why she thinks she can get away with it..." he mumbled.

The kitsune just shook his head, amused. "Well, you've managed to get yourself into a mess, haven't you? Trying to get Kagome to calm down and begin to see you as more than just a friend, and now she's got competition - in a contest she hasn't even entered yet!"

"Are you gonna help me, or just keep laughing?" he hissed, obviously annoyed, and Shippo finally stopped laughing at him, and sat down, a thoughtful look crossing his face.

"I think you had a good idea - we should tell Kagome about what's going on, and see what she says. Not only will she probably get upset at the idea, but she'll give you points for honesty, as well. It will mark this as different than the whole Inuyasha and Kikyou thing - you won't be hiding anything, you'll be trying to get away from this other female."

Yasha sank down onto the couch, and sighed wearily. "Man, I hope you're right. I'm getting tired of having to slink around - not to mention that woman seems to have some kind of radar where I'm concerned - no matter where I go, she always finds me."

Shippo tilted his head, eyes narrowed as something occurred to him then, but he simply shook his head when Yasha asked, telling him that he'd tell him about it when they got to Kagome's.

Shrugging, Yasha nodded, then stood as Shippo did, and the two walked out of the apartment, bound for the Higurashi Shrine.

"Hey, Yasha?"

The hanyou glanced at Shippo. "Yeah, man?"

"What's this stalker look like?"

Suspicious, Yasha tilted his head, eyes narrowed. "Tall, black hair tinted at the ends, slender, with way too much make-up. Why?" he asked slowly.

"Because I think she found you again."

He flicked a thumb over his shoulder casually, and Yasha, a horrified look on his face, snuck a look behind him.

"Ahh, fuck!" His shoulders tightened almost defensively, and Shippo shook his head.

"Man, I woulda never believed it, but I guess you were right. That woman is freaky. How the hell did she follow you to my place?"

Yasha groaned. "I don't know! I almost feel paranoid enough to wonder if she's got a tracking device on me somewhere!"

Shippo shuddered at that. "Let's step up the pace, my friend. The sooner we get to the shrine, the better."

With that, the two took off like bat's out of hell, keeping the pace just barely slow enough to be considered very fast humans, so as not to give anything away.

It was enough - barely, as they left Akina in the dust.

Not that it seemed to matter, because she always found him, one way or another.

Why couldn't it be Kagome stalking me? I wouldn't even attempt to run away then!

Shippo had a frown on his face as they landed at the top of the shrine steps. "Hey, Yasha?" he asked, a peculiar note in his voice.

"Yeah?"

"Is that chick youkai?"

Yasha looked startled at that, but frowned, considering it. "I... don't know. She could be, I suppose. Never thought about it - but it would explain her ability to find me no matter what I do."

"It sure would - and it's one more reason to tell Kagome about it. Normal human she can't do too much about - but Youkai?" he finished slowly, and Yasha began grinning.

"The shikon miko... she's enough to scare the piss outta much scarier youkai than Akina could ever hope to be."

"Damn straight - I've seen her purify youkai before - and it's really scary. Maybe we could arrange a demonstration for that female." Shippo chuckled at that thought.

Yasha looked even more eager, landing on Kagome's doorstep with three leaps, and knocking, waited almost impatiently for Aiko to answer.

Shippo approached at a slightly more sedate pace, but arrived nonetheless at the same time as the door slid open, and both males bowed to the Higurashi matriarch.

"Is Kagome here... or with her grandfather, Aiko-san?" Yasha asked.

"Oh, hello, boys!" she said, happy to see the two. "She's upstairs, moaning about not having anything to wear. Maybe you two could go up and give her some suggestions?" she asked, a twinkle in her eye. "She's dressed, don't worry - she's just not happy with what she's wearing."

Shippo chuckled. "Sure - I bet I can get her to be happy with something in her closet, don't worry."

Akina laughed, waving the two boys in. "Go on up, then."

The two made their way quickly up the stairs, and knocked on her door.

They both startled a bit when the door was flung open, and Kagome threw her arms open dramatically. "Look at me! I'm a mess! I can't find anything decent to wear," she moaned, waving them away with disgust when she realized who was standing at her door.

"Oh. It's you guys," she said flatly, and turned back into her room. "You may as well come in. Not like I'm going to be changing, or anything," she flung loudly down the stairs, knowing her mother could hear.

She was rewarded with a laugh that floated back up the stairs at her, and both boys rolled their eyes at her.

"You look fine, Kagome," Shippo said, grinning at her. "I don't remember you worrying about what you were wearing five hundred years ago," he teased.

She frowned at him. "Of course not. Why would I, when all I was doing was tromping all over the countryside anyways, getting chased, threatened, and covered in youkai guts all the time?"

"I guess... but you really do look fine, K'gome."

She sighed. "Fine." Then she cast a suspicious glance at them. "What are you gusy doing here, anyways? Were we supposed to go somewhere, and I forgot about it?"

At that, Yasha collapsed onto her desk chair, and groaned. "No... but I need your help. Maybe you can figure out what to do."

She looked at him, a furrow appearing on her brow at the tone of his voice. He was serious. She sat down on her bed and looked at him. "What's up?"

He exchanged glances with Shippo, then sighed, and looked over at her. "Look. Despite what mess there is between you and I and the past, you know how I feel for you." As she flushed, he shook his head. "I'm not saying this to upset you. Anyway, a friend of mine was trying to help what he thought of as my non-existent love life out, and set me up with this girl."

Kagome held up a hand, a flash of temper heating her cheeks. "Wait, what?"

"It's not what you think, I swear," he said quickly. "The one he tried to set me up with, however, isn't one to take 'no' for an answer - she's spoiled, and used to just getting what she wants. She's actually known amongst the guys for being a stalker - and now," he gave a pathetic look and groaned, "she's stalking me."

She looked at him incredulously, then over at Shippo, who nodded, a serious look on his face.

"Yeah, he's not kidding, Kagome. He even had to sneak out of his house this morning to come to my house, and by the time we left to come over here, she'd once again found him. I wouldn't doubt that she's tracked him here by now... we both think she's youkai, there's just no other way she could be finding him so quickly."

Her eyes narrowed, Kagome stood and moved over to her window, looking out, she quickly noted all those on the shrine grounds. "What does she look like?"

On being given the same description as Shippo had gotten, she nodded, and growled with annoyance. "She's there... seems to be watching the house, too. I think you're right - she's youkai - or at least hanyou of some type."

Turning back to the guys with one last glare at her window, she sat down on her bed again. What a witch! Spoiled and used to getting her own way, is she? Well... I can fix that!

After thinking for a few moments, she looked over at Yasha, only to find him staring at her with a hopeful expression on his face. With a wicked grin, Kagome said, "Why don't we disappoint her, then? She thinks she can have what she wants just because she wants it... I'll enjoy pissing her off, what about you guys?"

Shippo chuckled. "I kinda figured you'd say that, Kagome. You never did have a problem with letting people know where the line was."

Yasha smiled at her apologetically. "I'm sorry about this, Kagome. I just..."

Kagome cut him off with a waved hand. "Don't. This isn't your fault." She stood up and walked over to her closet, reaching in and grabbing a light sweater, she headed to the bathroom, sending the boys downstairs to wait for her while she put on some lip gloss and brushed out her hair.

When she finished, she skipped cheerfully down the stairs, and asked, "Okay, you guys... where should we lead her today?"

They exchanged gleeful glances...

"How about the fair? Crowds, rides, noise and annoyance - at least for her."

Kagome snickered. "Sounds good to me!" Taking hold of Yasha's arm with a rather proprietary air, she led the way out the door.

"Let's irritate the bitch!"

---cCc---

Akina watched as her daughter and the two males left the house, a rather astonished look on her face when she saw Kagome take Yasha's arm in a very proprietary manner.

I wonder what that's all about..?

Could she finally be getting past what Inuyasha did to her?

Once they were out of sight, she left the house and walked to the goshinboku, touching a gentle hand to its ancient bark.

"So much you have watched over... if you could only talk, I wonder what you would say?" she mused quietly, thoughts far away, memories of her beloved husband once again filling her as she stood beneath the tree he'd proposed to her under.

"And you, my husband. If you could see your family now, what would you say? Would you have allowed Kagome to do what she needed in the past, or refused, and kept her here? Could you have foreseen the pain she would go through?"

With a sigh, she sat down on the bench, sadness in her heart for the wisdom he would never get to impart to his children, the life that he was missing. You were taken away - and left me to muddle through. I can only hope that you would approve of what I have done.

Her thoughts were interrupted, then. "My son was no more a prophet to know the future than you are, my dear, and you know it. Wise he might have been, but none can know or change the kami-given fate of another. You have done as well as anyone can expect."

She looked up and smiled at Hikari. "Thank you for that. Sometimes... I just need to hear it, I guess. I hate to see the hurt she's had to go through, and I wonder if I did the right thing in letting her go - but then I remember that this was what the kami had planned for her - this is her life, and I can't protect her from everything." She looked down, then, closing her eyes sadly.

"But I wish I could."

Hikari watched her for a moment, then sat down with a sigh. "Ah... these old bones just don't work the way they used to." He looked up into the boughs of the old tree, and shook his head.

"Kagome is strong. She is like this tree in that. They both have thrived in adversity - and will continue to do so. You should know, Aiko - life is like that. It is why Kagome has learned so much wisdom already... she is much more mature in most ways than almost any girl her age."

Aiko nodded. "I know. All this, I understand, Hikari... but it is still hard to watch your child suffer. You should know that," she said, with a chuckle.

He chuckled back, glancing down at her, conceding her point. "You are right, as usual. Still," he said, watching the people walking around the shrine, "there is some peace to be found in acceptance, you know. Accept what you cannot change."

He laughed, then. "It is this lesson, I think, that kami are trying to teach my stubborn granddaughter right now."

Startled, Aiko glanced at him, then at the tree - and she started laughing. "You know... I think you're right."

With that, she stood, and helping him to his feet, she tucked her arm in his, and led him towards the house.

It was time to feed him lunch.

As they walked away, unnoticed by either, a small, white blossom spun gently down from the heights of the great tree, landing softly in the spot Aiko had been sitting.

The great tree was still watching - and listening.

---cCc---

A/N: And there's a new chapter. I'm happy that I even managed to get anything written, what with all the mess I'm dealing with right now. It will be at least several more weeks, though, before I really get another chapter out - the rest of Jan. is going to suck, putting it bluntly, so I'm apologizing for the wait in advance. As previously stated, though, in my othr fics, I will NOT abandon it. I hate half finished stories.

Amber