InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Dogs in Tokyo ❯ Chapter 7 ( Chapter 7 )

They burst through the doorway to the right and down a sharp slope, splashing through a layer of water concealing the tracks. The light was a cold, greenish blue as if it were moonlight illuminating trees and rocks and the shapes of traditional houses tucked between them. Kagome could make out what appeared to be a graveyard further up the track and felt that the ghostly music sounding over the speakers was fitting. She turned to Inuyasha and stopped what she was going to say in surprise at finding him in the act of trying to force the bar that held them captive in the seats out of its housing. At that moment, the ride stopped with a loud thunk.

"Uhh, Inuyasha! I think you broke it! Please don't do that. We'll just say I panicked and you were helping me out." She gabbled as soothingly as she could. She looked at him in dismay; could he never adjust to the modern day?

"Damnit Kagome! How do you get these things open?!" He pushed at the bar uselessly twisting at it.

"Wh-a-a?" She goggled at him. "You don't. It'll start again in a moment…" Her attention was drawn by a figure stepping out from behind a tree and advancing slowly down the artificial slope to the edge of the watercourse. It was a very convincing looking youkai.

"See, one of the attraction actors is coming now. He'll really try to stay in character; so don't be surprised." She was relieved. "Wow, he's really real-looking! Great make-up!"

Inuyasha ignored her and repositioned himself to surge upwards powerfully, releasing the bar with a loud snap. "They are youkai, you twit. Get out of this thing and stay behind me."

Kagome shook off her illusions of safety and scrambled to comply with his arm to help and only a second to spare as claws slashed down from the other side of the carriage.

He spun to face them in the dimness feeling at a distinct disadvantage in his already waterlogged sneakers. There were two of them on either side of the carriage now. Both tall and somewhat man-shaped with heavy rams horns curling from the center of their foreheads to frame their faces. He shuffled backwards-forcing Kagome to stay firmly behind him with one already clawed hand.

"Inuyasha," she said tremulously, the hair pricking up on the back of her neck. She could feel something behind her and spun to face a bloated red thing with grasping hands.

At the same instant that Inuyasha leapt to meet the charge of the snorting ram youkai Kagome snapped up her hands with a shriek of infuriated terror and a blue flash occurred between her palms. As Inuyasha swept into a spinning attack the blue spark contacted the red things chest and it popped with a loud report.

Inuyasha turned, surrounded by his usual rain of minced youkai to see Kagome standing with her back towards him and her hair lifting for an instant in some sort of electrostatic charge. There seemed to be nothing in front of her. Inuyasha hesitated and scanned the area around them for any other opponents. He could hear human voices in the background and the low, persistent honk of some alarm or other. There had been a short figure behind that of the mechanical Chinese daemon at the entrance to this part of the track. He had seen it in a quick glimpse of a white face with bulging eyes peering directly at them as the android made its sharp movement and they had been sent through this door. The whole thing had been a trap.

"Higurashi!" shouted a voice.

~*~

Ryosei felt satisfaction as the ride clunked to a sudden halt. Things were going to plan and she was sure to be able to study the girl and strike up a conversation with the couple easily in this situation. She could see some movement in the fog up ahead but pushed at the bar of the cart uselessly.

"I want out. Why can't I get out?" She looked about her and was reminded of her seatmate. She turned to face him, "Sir, can you help me? I don't feel well and my friends are up ahead of us."

Houjou-Kun stared at her in the blue-tinged gloom. She was asking him for help? "Of course, rely on me ma'am." He squeaked embarrassingly (his voice was still breaking at odd moments). However, he could actually help in this having spent a perfectly miserable summer two years ago helping his uncle do maintenance on Disneyland Tokyo. "Just help me push down on this bar and." He pressed a recessed button at the side of the carriage. The padded bar obligingly popped up.

"Technically, the bars shouldn't be lifted until an attendant comes but…" He trailed off in surprise as a bestial creature standing on two legs lifted its horrible claws and brought them down and through the carriage in front of them ---destroying it.

"Shit!" Ryosei squawked and dove for cover between the carriage and the side of the watercourse. She turned peering forward though the misty gloom to see a lithe dancer's form silhouetted in a leap against the misty screen of light, arm out stretched to catch at a larger shadow and cast it down. It spun in place to leap again in another direction as an electric blue flare of light flashed briefly and faded. Her heart pounded: she had never seen such beauty of movement. It was like a revelation.

"Higurashi!" shouted Houjou. He slogged forward through the water covering the tracks suddenly coming face to face with the longhaired guy from the shrine stepping toward him in a manner that could only be described as threatening.

"What do you want, Punk?"

Houjou backpedaled a bit and would have fallen if it were not for Ryosei arriving behind him and grabbing his shirt.

"Hey! You could get us in trouble for that! Touching or assaulting Yomiuriland actors is strictly forbidden! It's posted all over the place!"

"What Yomiuriland actors? I don't see any here." Inuyasha stated as he shoved his very solid shoulder in the way of Houjou's further advance.

"There was one here in costume. I saw you punch him! Kagome, if you want I'll take you home. I don't think you should be with a violent guy like this."

Kagome spoke up; "Look, I think I see an exit sign! It's over there behind that rock. Let's get out of here." She started to herd everyone to the exit and sanity.

Houjou hung back whispering to Kagome "Why is that guy staying? He's a menace! I'll bet he's looking for other park employees to go after.."

"Do what she says and consider yourself lucky!" Snapped Inuyasha from behind him.

With a barely repressed snarl, Kagome swung back and grabbed Houjou's belt, dragging him behind her by it in a determined quick march headed for the exit. "Please, Houjou-Kun, don't worry so."

"Well he could you know!" Houjou cried half frantically. "They say they'll prosecute!"

Ryosei grabbed his elbow, urging him on. "Please can we just get out of here? I'd feel better if there was a man with me!" She couldn't wait to get out of there she fumed to herself. She was going to kill that little snot! All she had wanted was a break in the ride so she could introduce herself without seeming to have angled for it. Very important to build trust and Ryosei had spent the last fourteen years of her life telling believable lies so that she could be on top and safe. Now she was suddenly running around in a situation that she did not understand. Obviously what she had seen in the gloom was not what her seatmate had seen. There he was, chattering away again now.

"Kagome that guy is obviously some kind of a nut. Why don't we just leave him in there and get away to somewhere where it's safe." They had found the door and stepped out into the busy half-light of the park.

Ryosei broke in, speaking to Houjou. "I'm sorry, I didn't know you knew these people."

Houjou and Kagome stared at her in surprise. "Who are you?" Kagome asked as Inuyasha stepped out of the emergency exit and let it slam shut behind him.

Ryosei found herself stammering as she got another eyeful of this astoundingly bishounen guy. "I'm, ah.."

"You're that saké girl from this afternoon aren't you?" Inuyasha stood with his thumbs hooked in his waistband and flicked his gaze over her with humiliating indifference. He shifted his attention to Kagome and quickly reached to brush something off of her shoulder. "I think we get you home now, Kagome."

Kagome glanced down at herself and found she was covered in flecks of what looked suspiciously like glistening red meat.

"Mr. Nishigawa, I…" Ryosei broke off, focusing on what was on Kagome's dress. She immediately fished in her little alligator purse. "Here, please, young lady. You seem to have something on your cheek." she said passing Kagome a packet of tissues.

Kagome clapped her hand to her face in dismay and started blotting. "C'mon, Kagome." Inuyasha said and began to draw her away.

Ryosei took a step after them. "Please, just a moment of your time Nishigawa-San!"

"Later, Saké Girl." he answered over his shoulder and whisked Kagome off into the night.

Ryosei took another step and stopped, "But wait I just wanted to.."

"So, she is in some kind of relationship with that guy!" Houjou's voice sounded aggrieved.

Ryosei turned to him in puzzlement. "Of course, aren't they getting married very soon?" she watched him carefully. "Is this a surprise to you? Surely with such a young couple there must have been some talk." She gazed at him, blinking a bit against the fumes.

"I didn't know anything about it! Or, no, wait.. I did. There were rumors. But it just can't be true! She's so pure and delicate. He must be forcing himself on her." Houjou spun and caught at Ryosei's shoulders. "That's it! He must be holding her against her will!"

"That was my impression!" she gripped his shoulders and stared intently into his eyes. "We must talk about this. Here is my card, and here…" she tore out a pen from her purse, "is my cell phone number." She pressed the card into his hand curling his fingers over it. She stepped away and smiled as she waved "Ja ne!" and walked off, leaving him staring at the card in his hand.

She quickly walked around the corner and started looking. There was no way that little crap had gotten out before her and he was looking for another infusion of money anyway. Ever since he had gotten his ass so thoroughly in trouble with the master she had been supporting him and his booze habit. There he was. Lurking around the corner in a shadowed space between rides. She sped up and with a "There you are." drew him with her into the shadowy cul-de-sac between the nearest ride and let him have it.

"Jaken, what was that supposed to be?" she hissed in his ear. "You were supposed to disrupt the ride so I would have a chance to look like I was meeting them by accident, not try to kill the guy!"

The man's pop-eyed face was sullen. "I am sure my master would prefer him dead."

"The master?" she echoed and frowned shifting to lean against the yellow painted fence surrounding the base of the roller coaster. "Fine, but don't you think Jukuryo-San is going to get suspicious if his new antiquities source winds up dead in a freak accident? That would be two in one month and I don't want my cover blown. Jukuryo is already puzzled about the disappearance of the previous one and he seems very curious about the past of this one. He wants me to investigate thoroughly."

The little man's face went more sullen still, sinking into his collar in a bulging manner that made him look remarkably like a frog fallen on hard times and miffed about it. "Enough is known about this one. The master would prefer him killed."

"How do you know that? I thought you were in bad odor with the master. This guy only showed up at Jukuryo's today and the only order I have received is Jukuryo's to check him out." She paused and glared at him suspiciously, "Wait a minute, you're holding out on me. You know who this Inuyasha guy is!"

The little man stiffened and stretched to his full height beadily glaring into her eyes. "The masters secrets are safe with me. You are not to be told. My master would be delighted for this Inuyasha to meet with a fatal accident."

"You know, you always go all funny when you're speaking of the master." Coming to a sudden decision Ryosei said, "So you're not going to tell me huh? Well you may wish you had by the end of this evening." She swiftly leaned forward and pressed her lipstick covered mouth hard on his (effectively stunning the little man) and then reached up and grabbed the collar of her own shirt and ripped it. With a convincing shriek she stumbled out of the shadows and fell to the ground neatly blocking his way out. "Help! Rape!" she cried out.

The little man started and snarled, hand going into the breast of his coat and fumbling out a short carved rod. His fingers slipped though and the rod dropped out of his grasp to roll off into the shadows. With a cry of distress he stumbled after it only to be blinded by the glare of a powerful spotlight shining in his eyes.

Security, as defined by athletic young men in blue pounded into the area with a "Hup! Hup! Hup! Hup!" knees lifted high, and grabbed Jaken. Hauling him off by his shoulders, they tossed him into the waiting security cart. Ryosei watched as Jaken sat, looking about himself haplessly-as if he couldn't believe this was happening to him. She started patting down her pockets, knowing Jaken would be released soon as someone higher up than park security recognized him. She needed to move quickly if she wanted to keep him at a disadvantage.

"Where the fuck is my cell phone?!" She muttered digging through her pockets. She remembered having heard a light thump on the grass at some point before security had arrived. She went back into the shadows to search for her cell phone but found instead a short staff. It was only about the size of one of those giant pencils, but its appearance was most curious. At one end were two faces were bound looking away from each other. One was the face of a crooked old man, the other that of a woman whose hair wrapped around the rod portion of the staff. The hair seemed to move gently beneath her fingers.

She was about to drop it to the ground when she suddenly had a change of heart. 'No, better to keep this unusual item. Who knew what inappropriate person might try to pick it up.