InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Dashed Hopes ❯ Threats ( Chapter 6 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Fay-of-Faerie 
A lot of problems happen and Naraku's back! Not to mention that now Kagome needs a new place to hide out...
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure / Drama / Romance | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 07.29.2004 | Pages: 5 | Words: 3.5K | Visits: 862 | Status: Completed
A lot of problems happen and Naraku's back! Not to mention that now Kagome needs a new place to hide out...
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure / Drama / Romance | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 07.29.2004 | Pages: 5 | Words: 3.5K | Visits: 862 | Status: Completed
Excitement this chapter, not information! You readers should be jumping for joy right about now.
I also figured out that at this point in time, I could make it a Kagome/Inuyasha, Kagome/Sesshoumaru, or a Kagome/Kouga. And I realized that I could make this story a relatively short one, or a longer one.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Disclaimer: ::sighs:: ::monotone:: I do not own Inuyasha.
.
.
.
Dashed Hopes
.
.
.
--- Last Chapter ---
Kagura hung up and concentrated on the bright road ahead of her. She’d have to get some back up if she wanted to find and keep tabs on Kagome Higurashi.
--- End of Last Chapter ---
.
.
.
Chapter 6: Threats
.
.
.
“Want to go get some lunch with me, Ms. Shashu?” Inuyasha asked as he walked out of his office to see his secretary pouring over some assignments his brother had given her.
Inuyasha was back to being his cocky self and Kagome had a feeling it was going to stay that way for awhile. Rolling her eyes at her paperwork, Kagome called out, “Sure! And just call me Kagome. I don’t feel comfortable being called Ms. Shashu. It just doesn’t feel right since it’s-“ She cut herself off when she realized what she was saying. Shrugging, she got up and walked to the elevators. Pressing the down button, she turned around to wait for Inuyasha.
He walked over and waited beside her, tapping his foot impatiently. Kagome looked down at the tapping foot and raised her eyebrow. That was starting to get really irritating. Inuyasha snapped out of his daze long enough to see how annoyed Kagome was. Stopping the infernal noise, he smirked when the elevator finally dinged to a stop. Stepping in they stood side by side as the doors shut again, only to stop the next floor down.
Sesshoumaru stepped in quietly. He nodded to Kagome and glanced at his half brother.
“Hello Mr. Youkai!” Kagome chirped. Both Youkai brothers noticed the forced tone of cheerfulness.
“Ms. Shashu,” Sesshoumaru nodded again in her direction.
Flashing a smile, Kagome then looked up at the row of numbers above the door. She watched as the light slowly flittered down to mark that they had reached the ground floor.
The three coworkers stepped off and Sesshoumaru walked off in the direction of the filing room. Inuyasha led Kagome to the company’s parking lot.
She grinned when she saw his car. Kagome loved convertibles. Something about the wind in her hair, almost like she was flying. She’d close her eyes and imagine a forest flashing by, not the city views, when she rode in this type of car. Inuyasha smirked when he saw Kagome’s reaction to his car. As soon as the beep was heard, marking it unlocked, she jumped in. He could practically see the happiness radiating off her as he slid the top down.
“Where are we going?” Kagome called out over the wind as they rode down the busy streets.
“To that diner down town! It’s the one near 74th and Sakura!” Inuyasha yelled back, not taking his eyes off the road.
Kagome shrugged even though she knew he couldn’t see her. “As long as I’m not paying for the both of us, I don’t really care.”
‘That’s not a half bad idea,’ Inu thought as he drove. ‘Maybe I should make her pay, she didn’t at the ice cream parlor. She does owe me,’ he mused in his head.
The rest of the drive was in a comfortable silence as Inuyasha concentrated on driving and Kagome looked at Tokyo, her new home.
.
---
.
‘How the hell can one man be so strong?’ Kouga thought as he was slammed up against a brick wall for the umpteenth time.
“Tell me,” the voice growled from the dark figure, “Where I can find her.” The sunshine didn’t make it into the ally, but the man could tell Kouga was not in the best of shape.
Kouga glared through half-lidded eyes at his attacker. “Even if I did know, like hell I would tell you, Naraku.” He spat out.
“Are you trying to tell me you don’t know?” Naraku asked emotionlessly raising an eyebrow over a crimson eye.
“No!” Kouga ground out, ignoring the metal tang of the taste of blood in his mouth. “I’m telling you that I’m good at tap-dancing.” His bruised and bleeding arms hung limply by his body from his slightly elevated position above the ground.
There would definitely be bruises where Naraku was keeping a tight hold on his neck by morning.
If Kouga lived that long, that is.
Naraku growled. “You should tell me Kouga. It is in Kagome’s best interest for me to find where she is staying in Tokyo. She’s happy with me, I just need to remind her of that.”
Kouga laughed a short, cold laugh. “What the fuck are you talking about? I’ve seen what you do to her!”
“I do it because I care.” Naraku sneered.
“You beat her senselessly, keep her from all contact with those who actually care, and expect her to come back to you? What the fuck is wrong with you?” Kouga yelled.
Naraku scowled. “I don’t ‘beat’ her. I gently remind her why I’m the man in the relationship.”
He thought back on the last years. He didn’t use to beat Kagome. But being an extremely powerful businessman came with consequences. Having to deal with all those assholes really took a toll on him.
And it was Kagome’s responsibility to be there to help him release his anger.
That was what she was good for. And he loved her for it.
Feeling his flesh connect with her porcelain face was such a good feeling, he couldn’t think of what it would be like if he couldn’t have that release anymore.
He loved Kagome, and she loved him.
He smirked as he looked back up at Kouga. “I will find her.” That was all he said before Kouga’s vision went black and the young man slid down to lay in his own pool of blood in the dark, deserted ally in the busy city of Tokyo.
.
---
.
“What the-?” A man asked as he walked cautiously closer to the bloody lump in the ally.
“HOLY SHIT! Someone call an ambulance!” he called out when he recognized the bloody lump to be a body.
A woman glanced at the older gentleman before quickly pulling out a cell phone to phone the hospital.
“It’ll be okay,” she reassured the bleeding, unconscious, young man, now at her feet. The poor guy was bruised and bleeding on every inch of exposed skin.
.
---
.
Inuyasha looked at the woman sitting across from him in the expensive leather booth. Smiling cockily, he asked, “Is now later enough?”
Kagome looked up from where she was stirring her iced tea with a straw. Rolling eyes before plopping her head on an extended hand, she stated simply, “I was followed last night.”
Inuyasha dropped his smirk in surprise and quickly quirked an eyebrow in curiosity. That was not what he expected; of course he had no idea what to expect from this woman anymore, not that he ever had.
Sighing and yawning, the blue-eyed woman went on with her bored actions.
“Well?” Inuyasha encouraged her impatiently.
Kagome looked up. “Well, what? There isn’t much more to say.”
Inuyasha leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms behind his head. “Right.” He chewed his lip in boredom.
The waitress, Nazunna, came and cleared away the dishes. She was too busy with her main job to recognize Kagome as one of the women from SHA. Inuyasha laid a pile of bills on top of the glass table while Kagome stood up and stretched. “Thanks,” she forced out around a yawn.
“No problem,” Inuyasha muttered as he led them back to the car. Hopping back inside he pointed the silver nose of the convertible in the direction of the office...
...Sub-consciously checking his review mirror.
.
---
.
“Mmmmph,” Kouga muttered as he opened his eyes.
Or at least one eye, the other was swollen shut.
“What happened?” he asked no one in particular.
“You got into a bad scrape,” a passive nurse muttered as she readjusted Kouga’s IV.
Kouga first looked at the nametag that said ‘Keade’ then up to the older woman’s face.
Keade looked down at the poor young man. She was volunteering at the hospital that day since so many of the younger nurses took sick.
Sango was home, so Keade, who worked for the brunette as the 'nanny', wasn’t really needed to watch the boys. Of course, neither of the adults recognized the other for who they were since they had never met.
They didn’t know they were connected.
Kouga nodded, his face going limp as he remembered he confrontation with Naraku just around noon. “What time is it?”
Keade glanced at the clock hanging on the wall behind the bed’s headboard. “6:35 in the afternoon.”
“WHAT?!” Kouga roared as he leaped up out of the hospital bed before quickly falling back down in a spasm of pain.
Keade looked at him with an amused expression on her face. “Problem?” she asked calmly.
Kouga closed his eyes and groaned. ‘Great, just great! I come looking for Kagome to catch up with her and end up in the hospital because of her abusive boyfriend.’ “No,” he huffed.
Keade raised an ancient gray eyebrow before walking away without another word.
.
---
.
“Bet you can’t catch me!” Kohaku yelled as he raced backwards looking at Souta and Shippou who were frantically trying to keep up.
“Can too!” Souta hollered back.
Kohaku turned back face forward and slowed down at the edge of the forest. Normally the group of trees gave the young boy a sense of protection and welcome.
Today it felt foreboding.
He stared intently into the green, trying to figure out the change of feeling.
Souta caught up and bent over hands on knees, trying to catch his breath. Shippou came bounding just seconds afterward.
“What’s wrong?” The middle-aged boy asked the boy only a year older than himself.
Kohaku turned back to answer with curious brown eyes when a voice stopped him.
“Why nothing is, is it?” a cool voice floated from behind a rather large oak tree.
Souta looked up into the crimson eyes of the man he had thought he had escaped from. He squeaked in surprise and his pale face went slack. Shippou shivered uncontrollably and clung to his ‘uncle’s’ leg. He whimpered and gazed at the dew-kissed grass that was just now showing death for the upcoming winter.
But only at the area at Naraku’s feet.
Kohaku looked at his new friends’ terrified faces and bit back his own horror. He gazed coolly up at the stranger’s face and determinedly stated, “This is private property owned by my sister and myself and you are trespassing.”
Naraku glared at the young man. He then looked into the faces of Souta and Shippou. “Good to see you boys,” he stated calmly.
Souta started to shiver like Shippou and just gazed back at the man.
Naraku had never hit Souta and Shippou; he had never needed to since he had Kagome. But the boys had had to watch in terror every time that this ‘man’ had hurt the most important person in their lives. And they had been powerless to stop him. Naraku smirked at the horror-stricken children. He turned to Souta, who seemed to have the most grasp on the situation. “Tell your sister we’ll be together again real soon,” he stated in his dark collected voice before stalking back into the darkness of the forest.
Kohaku watched him leave before turning back to the terrified silent boys. “Let’s go,” he said simply.
The three walked back to the mansion in a disturbed silence.
Suddenly, the bright pink and orange sunset didn’t seem as spectacular anymore.
.
---
.
Laughter filled the great hall. The four adults were sitting around the mahogany table playing a card game. Plates full of picked at and uneaten food had been pushed down to the unused half of the table to wait for later. A glass of rose-colored wine was clutched in each of their hands as they joked about odds and ends, the events of the past day forgotten.
That is, until the three boys entered.
Kagome was the first to notice their presence and quickly bit off her giggles. Standing up, she knocked down her chair and raced to the pale children. Kagome patted each one down, attempting to find any injuries and her blue eyes turned stormy with worry. “What happened?” she breathed.
Shippou was too shaken up to do anything but attach himself unmoving from Kagome’s chest and Kohaku didn’t know enough to offer a full explanation. Everyone’s eyes moved to Souta. He breathed deeply in an attempt to calm his pounding heart. Looking up at his beloved sister, his deep chocolate eyes filled with unmasked fear and worry. “Naraku,” he whispered staring at his sister in unsurpassable terror.
Kagome shook visibly and it did not go unnoticed by anyone in the room. Sango’s smile slid of her face, Miroku looked disgusted, and Inuyasha’s face filled with pure fury. Kagome paled and looked at her small family with wide eyes. Tears welled up, but she refused to let them fall as she choked out, “He found us.”
Inuyasha clenched his jaw in an attempt to keep from shouting his annoyance by yelling at the poor girl for stating the obvious.
Souta leaned in towards his older sibling, and Kagome wrapped an arm around him as Shippou clung between them trying to stay strong for his mother’s sake. Kagome looked up at her friends, her new friends. The people she had come to trust so quickly and completely. And they all saw the pain unveiled in her eyes. “We have to leave again.”
Miroku and Sango stared at her, mirroring her pain. “No,” Sango whispered. She didn’t want to lose her friend, especially if it meant that Kagome was just going out to possibly get hurt again.
“She doesn’t have to.”
The three adults, and three kids, turned to stare at the one who had spoken.
Inuyasha gazed calmly back while leaning into his chair.
Kagome’s sadness and fear turned to anger. “What is wrong with you? You can’t just offer something, just to tease someone! You have to mean it! This is no joke!” she raged.
Inuyasha seemed unaffected by her accusing tone. “I’m not joking,” he replied. “I’m serious.”
Kagome’s face went slack and she opened her mouth only to close it again in confusion.
“My, and my brother’s, mansion has the top of the line security system. Every entry to the grounds is video taped by a non-hack able camera. The cameras are watched by an on duty guard every second of every day. The halls of my home are like a giant labyrinth and you could get lost if you didn’t know the place.”
Kagome nodded. “Are you sure you wouldn’t mind?” she whispered timidly.
Inuyasha looked at her coolly, a smug smirk tugging at his lips. “Of course.” And almost as an after thought added, “I don’t like to see my friends, Sango and Miroku, upset.”
Kagome turned away quickly so he wouldn’t see the tears welling up in her eyes. ‘Am I really that unimportant?’ Miroku and Sango were too busy celebrating Kagome’s stay to see how upset she still was. But Inuyasha did.
“I’m going to put the young ones to bed,” Kagome said quietly as she crept up stairs. “Good night,” she called over her shoulder.
Sango and Miroku just chatted away, but Inuyasha watched her with heavy eyes as Kagome crawled out of the room.
‘Why’d you go and do that. I thought we agreed to be nice to her!’ The voice was back.
‘NOT YOU AGAIN!’
.
---
.
“Kagura, I contacted Juuroumaru. He agreed to help you with the technical difficulties,” a whispery voice told her older sister over the phone.
“Thank you Kanna,” Kagura said affectionately. Kanna had always been a bit subdued since the death of their parents. Sad considering Kanna was only as old as Souta. “Make sure he doesn’t screw this up, Naraku will skin us alive if the information doesn’t come in soon,” Kagura added in her regular hard voice.
A ghost of a smile passed over Kanna’s pale face back in Kagura’s office in Kyoto. She really did love her sister, even if neither of them showed it that publicly.
Kagura slammed the cell phone’s flap shut and continued to stare at the mansion through the twilight.
‘Why Kagome? I warned you, I tried to tell you. You just didn’t listen.’ Kagura mentally chided the ebony haired girl she could see tucking her son and brother into bed.
‘I tried.’
.
---
.
Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow at his younger sibling back at their rather large home.
Inuyasha had just arrived home to explain to Sesshoumaru that Kagome Shashu, their secretary, was moving in with them.
“Why?” Sesshoumaru asked simply. Not that he would mind sharing his home with another person, the castle was large enough that he’d more than likely not see anyone for an entire day.
Yes. Castle. Inutaisho, the Youkai brothers' father, had found an old, magnificent castle that had been built in the feudal era. It was only one level, but it sprawled out and took up nearly three acres of land.
It was unbelievably large.
And green-rolling hills surrounded the tan, stone building. Inutaisho had remodeled the castle. All modern appliances had been added and carpet layered every floor. The ceiling had been reinforced and crumbling walls rebuilt.
Inuyasha sighed and then continued to explain Kagome’s problem. Just without too many details.
Sesshoumaru nodded and walked off to prepare for bed. Kagome wouldn’t be too bad to live with he decided.
Plus, he didn’t really care.
Although he felt the oddest feeling of wanting to keep her protected.
Probably something that had to do with her situation with Shippou, he could relate to that.
.
.
.
A/N: No, this is not a Kag/Sess fic, even though I like to read those. I just like Sesshoumaru and want him to have a good friendship (if he could have one) with Kagome. I will have a connection between the two so that they have a foundation for a friendship.
I also figured out that at this point in time, I could make it a Kagome/Inuyasha, Kagome/Sesshoumaru, or a Kagome/Kouga. And I realized that I could make this story a relatively short one, or a longer one.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Disclaimer: ::sighs:: ::monotone:: I do not own Inuyasha.
.
.
.
Dashed Hopes
.
.
.
--- Last Chapter ---
Kagura hung up and concentrated on the bright road ahead of her. She’d have to get some back up if she wanted to find and keep tabs on Kagome Higurashi.
--- End of Last Chapter ---
.
.
.
Chapter 6: Threats
.
.
.
“Want to go get some lunch with me, Ms. Shashu?” Inuyasha asked as he walked out of his office to see his secretary pouring over some assignments his brother had given her.
Inuyasha was back to being his cocky self and Kagome had a feeling it was going to stay that way for awhile. Rolling her eyes at her paperwork, Kagome called out, “Sure! And just call me Kagome. I don’t feel comfortable being called Ms. Shashu. It just doesn’t feel right since it’s-“ She cut herself off when she realized what she was saying. Shrugging, she got up and walked to the elevators. Pressing the down button, she turned around to wait for Inuyasha.
He walked over and waited beside her, tapping his foot impatiently. Kagome looked down at the tapping foot and raised her eyebrow. That was starting to get really irritating. Inuyasha snapped out of his daze long enough to see how annoyed Kagome was. Stopping the infernal noise, he smirked when the elevator finally dinged to a stop. Stepping in they stood side by side as the doors shut again, only to stop the next floor down.
Sesshoumaru stepped in quietly. He nodded to Kagome and glanced at his half brother.
“Hello Mr. Youkai!” Kagome chirped. Both Youkai brothers noticed the forced tone of cheerfulness.
“Ms. Shashu,” Sesshoumaru nodded again in her direction.
Flashing a smile, Kagome then looked up at the row of numbers above the door. She watched as the light slowly flittered down to mark that they had reached the ground floor.
The three coworkers stepped off and Sesshoumaru walked off in the direction of the filing room. Inuyasha led Kagome to the company’s parking lot.
She grinned when she saw his car. Kagome loved convertibles. Something about the wind in her hair, almost like she was flying. She’d close her eyes and imagine a forest flashing by, not the city views, when she rode in this type of car. Inuyasha smirked when he saw Kagome’s reaction to his car. As soon as the beep was heard, marking it unlocked, she jumped in. He could practically see the happiness radiating off her as he slid the top down.
“Where are we going?” Kagome called out over the wind as they rode down the busy streets.
“To that diner down town! It’s the one near 74th and Sakura!” Inuyasha yelled back, not taking his eyes off the road.
Kagome shrugged even though she knew he couldn’t see her. “As long as I’m not paying for the both of us, I don’t really care.”
‘That’s not a half bad idea,’ Inu thought as he drove. ‘Maybe I should make her pay, she didn’t at the ice cream parlor. She does owe me,’ he mused in his head.
The rest of the drive was in a comfortable silence as Inuyasha concentrated on driving and Kagome looked at Tokyo, her new home.
.
---
.
‘How the hell can one man be so strong?’ Kouga thought as he was slammed up against a brick wall for the umpteenth time.
“Tell me,” the voice growled from the dark figure, “Where I can find her.” The sunshine didn’t make it into the ally, but the man could tell Kouga was not in the best of shape.
Kouga glared through half-lidded eyes at his attacker. “Even if I did know, like hell I would tell you, Naraku.” He spat out.
“Are you trying to tell me you don’t know?” Naraku asked emotionlessly raising an eyebrow over a crimson eye.
“No!” Kouga ground out, ignoring the metal tang of the taste of blood in his mouth. “I’m telling you that I’m good at tap-dancing.” His bruised and bleeding arms hung limply by his body from his slightly elevated position above the ground.
There would definitely be bruises where Naraku was keeping a tight hold on his neck by morning.
If Kouga lived that long, that is.
Naraku growled. “You should tell me Kouga. It is in Kagome’s best interest for me to find where she is staying in Tokyo. She’s happy with me, I just need to remind her of that.”
Kouga laughed a short, cold laugh. “What the fuck are you talking about? I’ve seen what you do to her!”
“I do it because I care.” Naraku sneered.
“You beat her senselessly, keep her from all contact with those who actually care, and expect her to come back to you? What the fuck is wrong with you?” Kouga yelled.
Naraku scowled. “I don’t ‘beat’ her. I gently remind her why I’m the man in the relationship.”
He thought back on the last years. He didn’t use to beat Kagome. But being an extremely powerful businessman came with consequences. Having to deal with all those assholes really took a toll on him.
And it was Kagome’s responsibility to be there to help him release his anger.
That was what she was good for. And he loved her for it.
Feeling his flesh connect with her porcelain face was such a good feeling, he couldn’t think of what it would be like if he couldn’t have that release anymore.
He loved Kagome, and she loved him.
He smirked as he looked back up at Kouga. “I will find her.” That was all he said before Kouga’s vision went black and the young man slid down to lay in his own pool of blood in the dark, deserted ally in the busy city of Tokyo.
.
---
.
“What the-?” A man asked as he walked cautiously closer to the bloody lump in the ally.
“HOLY SHIT! Someone call an ambulance!” he called out when he recognized the bloody lump to be a body.
A woman glanced at the older gentleman before quickly pulling out a cell phone to phone the hospital.
“It’ll be okay,” she reassured the bleeding, unconscious, young man, now at her feet. The poor guy was bruised and bleeding on every inch of exposed skin.
.
---
.
Inuyasha looked at the woman sitting across from him in the expensive leather booth. Smiling cockily, he asked, “Is now later enough?”
Kagome looked up from where she was stirring her iced tea with a straw. Rolling eyes before plopping her head on an extended hand, she stated simply, “I was followed last night.”
Inuyasha dropped his smirk in surprise and quickly quirked an eyebrow in curiosity. That was not what he expected; of course he had no idea what to expect from this woman anymore, not that he ever had.
Sighing and yawning, the blue-eyed woman went on with her bored actions.
“Well?” Inuyasha encouraged her impatiently.
Kagome looked up. “Well, what? There isn’t much more to say.”
Inuyasha leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms behind his head. “Right.” He chewed his lip in boredom.
The waitress, Nazunna, came and cleared away the dishes. She was too busy with her main job to recognize Kagome as one of the women from SHA. Inuyasha laid a pile of bills on top of the glass table while Kagome stood up and stretched. “Thanks,” she forced out around a yawn.
“No problem,” Inuyasha muttered as he led them back to the car. Hopping back inside he pointed the silver nose of the convertible in the direction of the office...
...Sub-consciously checking his review mirror.
.
---
.
“Mmmmph,” Kouga muttered as he opened his eyes.
Or at least one eye, the other was swollen shut.
“What happened?” he asked no one in particular.
“You got into a bad scrape,” a passive nurse muttered as she readjusted Kouga’s IV.
Kouga first looked at the nametag that said ‘Keade’ then up to the older woman’s face.
Keade looked down at the poor young man. She was volunteering at the hospital that day since so many of the younger nurses took sick.
Sango was home, so Keade, who worked for the brunette as the 'nanny', wasn’t really needed to watch the boys. Of course, neither of the adults recognized the other for who they were since they had never met.
They didn’t know they were connected.
Kouga nodded, his face going limp as he remembered he confrontation with Naraku just around noon. “What time is it?”
Keade glanced at the clock hanging on the wall behind the bed’s headboard. “6:35 in the afternoon.”
“WHAT?!” Kouga roared as he leaped up out of the hospital bed before quickly falling back down in a spasm of pain.
Keade looked at him with an amused expression on her face. “Problem?” she asked calmly.
Kouga closed his eyes and groaned. ‘Great, just great! I come looking for Kagome to catch up with her and end up in the hospital because of her abusive boyfriend.’ “No,” he huffed.
Keade raised an ancient gray eyebrow before walking away without another word.
.
---
.
“Bet you can’t catch me!” Kohaku yelled as he raced backwards looking at Souta and Shippou who were frantically trying to keep up.
“Can too!” Souta hollered back.
Kohaku turned back face forward and slowed down at the edge of the forest. Normally the group of trees gave the young boy a sense of protection and welcome.
Today it felt foreboding.
He stared intently into the green, trying to figure out the change of feeling.
Souta caught up and bent over hands on knees, trying to catch his breath. Shippou came bounding just seconds afterward.
“What’s wrong?” The middle-aged boy asked the boy only a year older than himself.
Kohaku turned back to answer with curious brown eyes when a voice stopped him.
“Why nothing is, is it?” a cool voice floated from behind a rather large oak tree.
Souta looked up into the crimson eyes of the man he had thought he had escaped from. He squeaked in surprise and his pale face went slack. Shippou shivered uncontrollably and clung to his ‘uncle’s’ leg. He whimpered and gazed at the dew-kissed grass that was just now showing death for the upcoming winter.
But only at the area at Naraku’s feet.
Kohaku looked at his new friends’ terrified faces and bit back his own horror. He gazed coolly up at the stranger’s face and determinedly stated, “This is private property owned by my sister and myself and you are trespassing.”
Naraku glared at the young man. He then looked into the faces of Souta and Shippou. “Good to see you boys,” he stated calmly.
Souta started to shiver like Shippou and just gazed back at the man.
Naraku had never hit Souta and Shippou; he had never needed to since he had Kagome. But the boys had had to watch in terror every time that this ‘man’ had hurt the most important person in their lives. And they had been powerless to stop him. Naraku smirked at the horror-stricken children. He turned to Souta, who seemed to have the most grasp on the situation. “Tell your sister we’ll be together again real soon,” he stated in his dark collected voice before stalking back into the darkness of the forest.
Kohaku watched him leave before turning back to the terrified silent boys. “Let’s go,” he said simply.
The three walked back to the mansion in a disturbed silence.
Suddenly, the bright pink and orange sunset didn’t seem as spectacular anymore.
.
---
.
Laughter filled the great hall. The four adults were sitting around the mahogany table playing a card game. Plates full of picked at and uneaten food had been pushed down to the unused half of the table to wait for later. A glass of rose-colored wine was clutched in each of their hands as they joked about odds and ends, the events of the past day forgotten.
That is, until the three boys entered.
Kagome was the first to notice their presence and quickly bit off her giggles. Standing up, she knocked down her chair and raced to the pale children. Kagome patted each one down, attempting to find any injuries and her blue eyes turned stormy with worry. “What happened?” she breathed.
Shippou was too shaken up to do anything but attach himself unmoving from Kagome’s chest and Kohaku didn’t know enough to offer a full explanation. Everyone’s eyes moved to Souta. He breathed deeply in an attempt to calm his pounding heart. Looking up at his beloved sister, his deep chocolate eyes filled with unmasked fear and worry. “Naraku,” he whispered staring at his sister in unsurpassable terror.
Kagome shook visibly and it did not go unnoticed by anyone in the room. Sango’s smile slid of her face, Miroku looked disgusted, and Inuyasha’s face filled with pure fury. Kagome paled and looked at her small family with wide eyes. Tears welled up, but she refused to let them fall as she choked out, “He found us.”
Inuyasha clenched his jaw in an attempt to keep from shouting his annoyance by yelling at the poor girl for stating the obvious.
Souta leaned in towards his older sibling, and Kagome wrapped an arm around him as Shippou clung between them trying to stay strong for his mother’s sake. Kagome looked up at her friends, her new friends. The people she had come to trust so quickly and completely. And they all saw the pain unveiled in her eyes. “We have to leave again.”
Miroku and Sango stared at her, mirroring her pain. “No,” Sango whispered. She didn’t want to lose her friend, especially if it meant that Kagome was just going out to possibly get hurt again.
“She doesn’t have to.”
The three adults, and three kids, turned to stare at the one who had spoken.
Inuyasha gazed calmly back while leaning into his chair.
Kagome’s sadness and fear turned to anger. “What is wrong with you? You can’t just offer something, just to tease someone! You have to mean it! This is no joke!” she raged.
Inuyasha seemed unaffected by her accusing tone. “I’m not joking,” he replied. “I’m serious.”
Kagome’s face went slack and she opened her mouth only to close it again in confusion.
“My, and my brother’s, mansion has the top of the line security system. Every entry to the grounds is video taped by a non-hack able camera. The cameras are watched by an on duty guard every second of every day. The halls of my home are like a giant labyrinth and you could get lost if you didn’t know the place.”
Kagome nodded. “Are you sure you wouldn’t mind?” she whispered timidly.
Inuyasha looked at her coolly, a smug smirk tugging at his lips. “Of course.” And almost as an after thought added, “I don’t like to see my friends, Sango and Miroku, upset.”
Kagome turned away quickly so he wouldn’t see the tears welling up in her eyes. ‘Am I really that unimportant?’ Miroku and Sango were too busy celebrating Kagome’s stay to see how upset she still was. But Inuyasha did.
“I’m going to put the young ones to bed,” Kagome said quietly as she crept up stairs. “Good night,” she called over her shoulder.
Sango and Miroku just chatted away, but Inuyasha watched her with heavy eyes as Kagome crawled out of the room.
‘Why’d you go and do that. I thought we agreed to be nice to her!’ The voice was back.
‘NOT YOU AGAIN!’
.
---
.
“Kagura, I contacted Juuroumaru. He agreed to help you with the technical difficulties,” a whispery voice told her older sister over the phone.
“Thank you Kanna,” Kagura said affectionately. Kanna had always been a bit subdued since the death of their parents. Sad considering Kanna was only as old as Souta. “Make sure he doesn’t screw this up, Naraku will skin us alive if the information doesn’t come in soon,” Kagura added in her regular hard voice.
A ghost of a smile passed over Kanna’s pale face back in Kagura’s office in Kyoto. She really did love her sister, even if neither of them showed it that publicly.
Kagura slammed the cell phone’s flap shut and continued to stare at the mansion through the twilight.
‘Why Kagome? I warned you, I tried to tell you. You just didn’t listen.’ Kagura mentally chided the ebony haired girl she could see tucking her son and brother into bed.
‘I tried.’
.
---
.
Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow at his younger sibling back at their rather large home.
Inuyasha had just arrived home to explain to Sesshoumaru that Kagome Shashu, their secretary, was moving in with them.
“Why?” Sesshoumaru asked simply. Not that he would mind sharing his home with another person, the castle was large enough that he’d more than likely not see anyone for an entire day.
Yes. Castle. Inutaisho, the Youkai brothers' father, had found an old, magnificent castle that had been built in the feudal era. It was only one level, but it sprawled out and took up nearly three acres of land.
It was unbelievably large.
And green-rolling hills surrounded the tan, stone building. Inutaisho had remodeled the castle. All modern appliances had been added and carpet layered every floor. The ceiling had been reinforced and crumbling walls rebuilt.
Inuyasha sighed and then continued to explain Kagome’s problem. Just without too many details.
Sesshoumaru nodded and walked off to prepare for bed. Kagome wouldn’t be too bad to live with he decided.
Plus, he didn’t really care.
Although he felt the oddest feeling of wanting to keep her protected.
Probably something that had to do with her situation with Shippou, he could relate to that.
.
.
.
A/N: No, this is not a Kag/Sess fic, even though I like to read those. I just like Sesshoumaru and want him to have a good friendship (if he could have one) with Kagome. I will have a connection between the two so that they have a foundation for a friendship.