InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Destiny's Bond ❯ Another Day ( Chapter 13 )

I don't own Inu Yasha. Rumiko Takehashi does. Any character or idea she doesn't own belongs either to other authors (Such as the creator of Love Hina since one of his characters as well as the town of Hinata Hot springs is mentioned in this chapter) or myself (for which no credit is given but is implied). I'm not making any money off this work. I do it all for my own enjoyment and the enjoyment of my fans. Reviews and constructive criticism are both welcome.

 

Destiny's Bond

Chapter 12: Another Day

By

Lance the Flamesniper

 

Kagome tried hard to focus on her psychology test. The events of earlier that morning had caught her off guard. She certainly had not thought she was going to run into then be basically made to run after the new girl in school. The girl in question, Orihime Onikami, seemed very brusque in her communication but several important facts came up that Kagome found herself pondering even as she went into a detailed paragraph on Jung.

 

The Onikami family's head claims to know me? I don't recall meeting any of them before today. And what's this about having a gift for me. Lately things have been just too crazy. Moreover I've sensed demonic auras all morning. That's not something that I can overlook. But if there's a youkai nearby what is it up to? Whatever it is, it's really close by. Actually there seem to be a lot of them nearby. Kagome thought, then realized that the last part of her thought did nothing at all to make her feel better. If anything it made her wish she'd been able to bring Inu Yasha or Sango with her. Granted she didn't think Sango could come through the well and worse still she wasn't quite herself lately but still…

 

“Times up class!” Kagome's teacher proclaimed just as Kagome finished the last sentence of the last essay.

 

Kagome sighed wearily. At least she finished this time. With that thought in mind she went with her class to gym class.

&&&&&&&&

Sango sat on the front step of the hut her and the others usually shared and stared at the red rose she'd found that morning. A quick glance inside told her that the others were still asleep. That suited her fine. Idly she wondered who left the fragrant gift for her. Her mind came up right away with two very good possibilities. The first was Miroku. Her mind wanted to discard that thought right away. Miroku wasn't one for giving flowers. Not once had he done so in the past so why would he have started now. The other option however…

 

You know as well I do he'd do something like this. The hanyou in her head replied.

 

You don't know that for sure... though if it was him, I'll have to figure out how to thank him properly. Sango sniped back. She also would have to agree with that shadowy part of herself: that Kouga seemed more likely to be the one who gave her the rose. Of course the best way to find out would be to track him down and ask him…

With that thought in mind, the demon slayer went to seek out the wolf prince.

&&&&&&&

 

Miroku stepped out of the hut just in time to see Sango wander off. He couldn't tell for certain but she seemed to be looking at something and completely lost in thought, He wasn't sure what was going on, but Sango had been spending a lot of time with the wolf prince since finding out about their past relationship. It was beginning to trouble him more than he wanted to admit.

 

“I wonder what is going on with her?” Miroku mused.

 

“Feh! If you can't guess the problem ya deserve what you're going to get,” Inu Yasha snorted then resumed his mental count just as Kagome had taught him. At one hundred eighty he poured the now hot water into the cup and began to stir, starting a new count.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Do you remember how you and Sango used to tell me that I should take Kouga more seriously when he'd come by an' talk to Kagome?”

 

“Yes,” Miroku responded. “I remember it rather well because we knew and still know that unless you come forward with how you feel about Kagome, Kouga could easily steal her away.”

 

“Except now those tables are turned on ya, ya stupid monk!”

 

“Whatever do you mean?”

 

“Ya go around gropin' and proposin' to other women when ya had a perfectly good woman waiting for you to settle down and ask her to be your woman. Now she's got another man or should I say youkai showing interest.”

 

Miroku's eyes narrowed. “You think Kouga is trying to claim Sango as his own?”

 

“Yes,” the inu hanyou said with a nod and no hesitation.

 

“But she's a demon slayer. Obviously she wouldn't fall for his tricks.”

 

“That would be true if he was using some kind of charm or spell or some trick. But wolves don't work like that.”

 

“Oh? How would you know?”

 

“Simple I asked Kaede about it once. The old bat might be nosy and a pain but she knows demon lore. Wolven magic isn't like you humans or like other demons. They serve the moon, Earth and sun. And their spells come in the form of rituals and chants. No, Kouga wouldn't need any tricks but his own.”

 

“And what tricks are those?” Miroku asked with an eyebrow raised.

 

“What tricks did ya warn me against?”

 

“Well he can be kind and respectful and treated Kagome like…”

 

“Like he's currently treating Sango?” The hanyou shot back between bites of his meal.

 

Miroku's eye widened as that thought was driven home.

 

“Look. What you do ain't none of my damn business. But you'd better think about what I've told you. Or else think about taking in with one of the many wenches ya've proposed to over the last few years. Me? I've got something I have to get ready to take care of,” The hanyou said as he tossed the empty ramen cup into what Kagome had told him was called a “Plazz-tik garr-bage bag”, whatever that was. Without a further word Inu Yasha left the monk to his thoughts.

&&&&&&&&&

1:15 p.m. Modern era Tokyo

 

Onikami and Ifurita arrived at the chosen location for the meeting right on time, a large building owned by the Konno Family in this case. This was where the four families would meet. Onikami immediately noticed the two waiting for him. The first he noticed was the dark haired celestial dragon, Afura. The other was a red haired man in a green suit. His green eyes reflected a lot of mischief but also a surprising amount of seriousness at the same time.

 

“Konnichi wa Konno-san,” Onikami said as he and his body guard responded.

 

“Konnichi wa Onikami-san” Konno responded in turn. “What can I do for you?”

 

“Perceptive as always I see,” Konno responded. “There is something I wanted to discuss.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“What is one of your daughters doing in the town of Hinata Hot Springs?”

 

“So Mitsune noticed her huh?”

 

“Whichever of the twins it is isn't exactly discreet.”

 

“It's Tomoe. Rukia is helping Byakuya with surveillance in Nerima.”

 

“That doesn't answer my question. Is she there because my daughter is there or what?”

 

“Mitsune is and has always been welcome to stay in the Northern lands without any permission needed. Tomoe's there because Konran and Youmei are interested in something there. Same is true with why I have Ryo looking into things in the Southern Lands, and have Renji watching a group in Juuban.

 

“It must all be very important if you're sending your numerous children to do the task. I trust you have your reasons other than those two's interest.”

 

“You'll find out in the meeting. Most of it is because of Konran and Youmei though.”

 

The four made their way through levels of security that rivaled most maximum security installations, prisons and government agencies. Until the four found themselves in the presence of Taishou with his bodyguard Meis and the husband of Lady Fukaimori and her body guard Shayla in the center of the desk they were sitting at was a speakerphone indicating the presence of the fifth member of the circle of four: the half brother of the head of the Taishou zaibatsu and the protector of the one known by the codename Oracle. There had always been rumors about the four families: that they were a secret power behind all the business dealings in Japan; that they had made deals with demons to gain wealth, power and immortality and any number of other bits of nonsense and disinformation that the Taisho Zaibatsu, Konno group, Onikami Industries and Furkaimori Zaibatsu didn't bother to disavow.

 

“We see you have finally arrived.” Taishou sniffed with a hint of annoyed disdain.

 

“And we see that your newest wife hasn't started scolding you for that third person thing you do,” Konno fired back. “How is Natsumi anyway?”

 

“Annoyingly stubborn.”

 

“Good!” the younger Taishou said from safely in Canada. “Maybe that will help get the stick the size of Fujiyama out of your ass.”

 

“Now, now my friends,” Onikami said breaking up the latest flare up of what had to be the world's longest sometimes not-so-civil-war. “We have other problems. There are factions in the South who seem to be snooping. The question is, Fukaimori-san, does your wife know what's going on or are they trying to subvert her?”

 

Fukaimori sat back and scratched at the small goatee he had taken to growing, claiming it gave him a rakish air. “Neither she nor I are aware of any problems in the Southern Lands, and certainly are not up to anything other than trying to catch up with Onikami-san in sheer family size.”

 

Onikami nodded. “I expected and Ryo has reported as much. Basically The Orochi, Nezumi and a few other species in the Southern Lands have been searching for two things. The first is information on the location of the Shikon no Tama. To this end I have dispatched Orihime to defend Ms. Higureshi and made arrangements as per the words of “oracle” to meet with her and help explain things… both past and present.

 

“You said one thing was the Shikon no Tama,” the Younger Taishou asked. “What is the other thing?”

 

“I don't know for certain, but if I were to guess,” Onikami began. “I think they are looking for where we left Him.”

 

There was not discussion as to who the “Him” in question was. They all knew there was only one being that would be tied to seeking the Shikon Jewel. After all these four were in the business of keeping their secrets and the longer that secret stayed hidden the better off everyone would be. Instead there were only three deadly serious gazes matching Onikami's own.

 

“Then we shall all keep vigilant. Please keep us all informed of your finding and let us know of any needs you come across,” the elder Taishou said summing up the thoughts of the others. “Now on to the less pressing matter of our business plans…”

 

&&&&&&

 

Kagome smirked. Gym class today seemed to be a focus on archery. The test for the girls this day took the form of target shooting with the two highest scores not having to cleaning duty assigned. This managed to get even the least motivated girls into the spirit. It turned out they shouldn't have bothered. One by one the girls were winnowed out of the competition. One of the best shooters Akiko Masamura, many thought would be a shoo in for top two was forced to take fifth place thanks to the surprising shooting skill of Kagome. Who knew the “sickly” girl could shoot. Kagome mentally snarked.

 

But Kagome was even more surprised to find that the new girl, Orihime, tended to match her shot for shot. There was no malice in the deed, Kagome noted, in fact the girl's face was almost completely impassive for the duration of their archery class, save for this small almost feral half-smirk she would get after hitting a perfect bulls-eye. Yet there were times when the other girl would remind her of other people she knew. The set of her jaw when she was preparing a shot reminded her of someone as did the toned figure and that strange almost body stocking she was wearing under her school uniform during normal class time. That half-smirk reminded her of someone else entirely as did the girls brisk yet energetic personality. It was irking Kagome to no end that she couldn't put all that together.

 

It doesn't help that I'm totally distracted by the demon presences around the school. I don't sense any malice but still… Kagome mused as she fired the last shot for the day. The end result it would seem would be a tie. Which in the end suited Kagome just fine.

&&&&&&&

 

It was early afternoon when Sango finally found Kouga. He was in the village as she had expected the prince of the wolves to be, however what he was up to was surprising.

 

“Kouga-san! Kouga-san! Play with us some more!” A chorus of village children exclaimed as they followed the smiling prince through the village.

 

“Very well children,” Kouga said with a gentle-yet playful grin that made Sango's heart feel strange. “I'll teach you a game we wolves teach our cubs, but only if Sango-san helps me teach it to you.”

 

Sango soon found herself on the receiving end of several puppy-dog eyed stares. Still she couldn't help but smile at Kouga's antics, especially when he added his own wolf-cub eyed stare to the children's “Sure, I'll be glad to help Kou-kun. What's the game?”

 

“Oh it's one you know! A little ookami child taught it to you long ago. It's called Hunter-hunter.”

 

Sango's smile turned slightly predatory for a moment then resumed its normal state. “Yes I do know that game. By the way Kouga, did you leave something for me this morning.”

 

Kouga paused in tell the children the rules of the game and looked to the slayer. “Yes I did. I hope you like roses. If you don't I can try to find something else that suits you.”

 

Sango felt her cheek crimson until she was sure they matched the rose in hue. “N-no, I like roses very much,” She said then lunged forward, snagged Kouga's legs and pulled -the end result being Kouga landing on his back, slightly stunned and Sango slapping him lightly on the heels. “By the way: point for me!”

 

“Why you..! Get back here!” Kouga called as he and the children spread out to hunt down Sango. The game was on.

&&&&&&&

 

Kagome found herself walking home next to the strange girl who seemed content to stay at her side whenever possible. On one level it was kind of a relief to the young miko as she could still sense youki around them. Including three presences trailing them. Kagome wished she'd either found an excuse to ditch Onikami and investigate or to have appropriated a bow from the phys ed class incase there was trouble.

 

“We're being followed.” Orihime intoned then pressed a box into the confused miko's hands. “Here take this. Open it now/”

 

Kagome quickly opened the box and found herself looking a curious triangle as well as a quiver of several arrows. “What…?”

 

“It's a Onikami Industries Collapsible longbow, courtesy of my father. You just hit the little button on the grip and it'll open. A double tap in quick succession closes bow back to its more portable state.”

 

Kagome quickly found and triggered the mechanism then knocked an arrow, impressed with the design and weight of the device. A glance at Orihime revealed another surprise. Orihime had quickly removed the blouse and skirt of her outfit leaving the body stocking for Kagome to see, Orihime had also affixed a familiar looking mask to the lower part of her face. In the fading light of the sun she finally realized what the stocking actually was: the uniform of a Taijya.

&&&&&

Feudal Era Early evening

 

Sango continued to hide in the bushes allowing the dark to conceal her. The day had been a lot of fun as she had seen Kouga happily playing with village children, allowing then to score points on him in the game. But one by one the children were called home leaving only the two adults who were currently tied in their own private game. Unlike the very first time the two played Sango's points on Kouga had been harder to earn forcing her to come up with new tricks on the fly. Her opponent and potential romantic interest however was an even bigger surprise using his speed and power as well as more than once he had lured her into her own traps or his own variation on her original tricks to score points.

 

I'm surprised he remembered those old snares! But I'll have to remember that one he did with the two young trees and the fisherman's net. What had he called that again? An Ookami amimono no kumo? Clever wolf… Clever prey!

 

A rustling to the left of her was all the warning she got that she had been cornered before the wolf prince pounced. Sango rolled with the attack allowing herself to end up on top of Kouga. In a quick motion she pinned his shoulders with her elbows and his hips with her thighs seemingly ignorant of the intimacy of the position. Her fingers quickly laced together and she rested her chin upon them as a devilish smile appeared on her lips.

 

“My my. I seem to have caught a wolf. Whatever shall I do with him?”

 

Kouga tried to get loose but even he knew he wouldn't get loose. Though Sango couldn't help but shudder at the feel of Kouga's hips pressing against her own. “You're caught Kouga. Surrender and I will be lenient.”

 

“I don't think so, Taijya no hime-chan!”

In the dying light of the sun Sango once again only got on slight warning before Kouga made his move. With a glint of a lady killer smile, Kouga's hands darted forward, throwing off her elbow then seized Sango's head in his hand and pulling her down until his lips claimed her own.

 

Sango's brown eye widened briefly in surprise before flowing into the kiss of the passionate wolf, feeling a slight thrill at surrendering to something she'd secretly hoped he would offer her. She'd only admit such things she realized to him.

 

Once more she wondered at the stark differences between the monk she might love and her Ko-kun. The fact that she even considered him hers was a huge deal to her. Her Ko-kun didn't grope other women or her for that matter. He was very open in how he felt and had no problem doing nice things for her. Before she knew what was happening she felt her tongue brush against Kouga's lips and felt him open his lips to her explorations. She was also aware of both the powerfully built frame that made her at this moment feel both vulnerable and protected and the powerful youki swirling around them as his right hand trailed down her spine and sought then gained purchase on the small of her back but didn't trail any lower. With any other man I would loathe to feel vulnerable or feel protected, but for Kouga I don't mind. Maybe it's because of how he treats me? The Taijya silently mused.

 

Finally, the mutual need for air broke the kiss.

 

“What would you say,” Kouga panted. “To a draw?”

 

Sango's answer was to kiss Kouga lightly on the lips then snuggle in closer to him as the pair watched the moon rise. For now there was peace.

 

Too bad it didn't last.

 

TBC

 

Words in Japanese

Fukaimori- Dark Forest

amimono no kumo- Spider Web