InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Don't Hate the Game ❯ "Goodies" ( Chapter 1 )

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

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or the song(s) by Ciara that I have used for this fic. This story is for entertainment purposes only, and inspiration for the first chapter comes from Richonyx’s third chapter of “Father Figure”.

DON'T HATE THE GAME

A/N - I am doing something I vowed I would never do…well, two somethings…first, I am (gasp) doing a song fic, and secondly, I am using an idea somebody already came up with on a song that they have already used, with the same pairing and AU club setting, if a little shaded to my own world. Richonyx has done an awesome “Goodies” chapter in her fic, “Father Figure” on mediaminer(dot)org. I adore the “Goodies” song and bought the Ciara CD. I have since decided to expand this into a couple of chapters using various songs from the CD. This chapter is ginormous, a lot longer than I expected. I have to warn of lots of foul language, blatant sexual innuendos, trite fluff, gobs of gore and future juice of the lemony kind---where permitted, ff(dot)net will be edited for song lyrics and NC17 content.

Again, all critiques, comments, and nonsensical mutterings are welcomed.

Fate

“Goodies” by Ciara


My goodies, my goodies, my goodies, not my goodies…

Although sound thundered throughout the club, echoing dull throbs to aid the sweaty parody of grinding sex on the dance-floor and filling the popular nightclub with flashing, hot life, the woman sitting alone at a far table ignored it. With her chin propped on one hand, she looked downright bored as the glowing splashes of colored light flickered past her, highlighting the creamy skin with various, unnatural hues and deepening the inky shadow of her long, black hair.

A man, eyes glinting, stopped to check the lone woman out, but wasn’t gauche enough to approach when she flicked an eye at him and then deliberately turned her attention away. Shrugging, he went in search of friendlier company. The club was packed, he wasn’t that worried about finding someone a bit more receptive. No one as hot, maybe, but what the hell…

Sango rolled her eyes as the man slid past her table, already seeking someone more amenable to his company. She was going to kill Kagome for dragging her to this dump. There were far too many people crowded in too little space for her relative peace of mind. There was too much movement, too much noise, too much going on for to ever feel comfortable with it. The situation posed far too many potentials to turn dangerous.

*I sure hope Kagome knows what she’s doing. That hanyou doesn’t sound like much more than a spoiled little youkai brat, let alone some kind of protector of miko…*

There was a flicker of movement over on her left, and Sango’s bored persona abruptly disappeared as she tensed into automatic defense. A knife appeared from nowhere by her thigh, held in a white-knuckled grip as her dark gaze narrowed on that small, suspicious motion, and she wondered where the hell Kagome was right now. If she had to start tossing knives around in here, she didn’t want her best friend to get in the way…

The motion resolved itself into a man ducking under the bar with an empty tray in hand, adroitly edging his way past people just hanging out for no more reason than that they were checking out other dumb asses doing much the same. Sango let out a gusty sigh of impatience as she shrugged tensed shoulders, wanting to laugh at herself. Slipping the knife back into the slim sheath braced to her thigh under the flimsy excuse of a dress Kagome had insisted she wear, the taijiya went back to scanning the club from under seemingly sleepy eyes, thick lashes concealing the impatient glitter in her dark gaze. She had never really been able to conceal her thoughts; it was a weakness to one of her training, but one she had learned to live with. Her father had always laughed that she wore her emotions too much on her sleeve, but he hadn’t ever reprimanded her for it.

She missed him, suddenly, fiercely. Missed him enough that her hand went seeking the warm, tepid drink on the table that she hadn’t touched before. Taking a healthy sip, Sango made a face as the rampant alcohol burned down her throat to settle uneasily in her empty stomach. Deliberately putting the glass back down on the table, she wondered again where the hell Kagome had got to. In another minute, she’d be getting up to go find her. Kagome often forgot just how vulnerable she was, how tasty a treat to the youkai seeking her.

Damn, this shit was annoying. Her battle-trained nerves were on edge just being this close to so many people and youkai, all mixing together like they hadn’t a single care in the world beyond this moment. The flash of fang in a smile or the strange luminescent eyes of a flirting youkai female could still startle Sango each time she saw them among the more human faces in this popular club where they felt free to mingle in a strange city half-way across the world from home, where the mixing of races would have been unheard of…

It was enough to set her teeth on edge.

*Damn it, Kagome. This was all your idea. I told you that stupid dog wouldn’t be here tonight, but you insisted on dragging me to this damn meat-market…*

Ignoring another appreciative look sent her way---this time by a youkai with bright blue hair and hideous taste in skin-tight magenta---Sango changed her mind about that drink, brought it to her lips and drank---heartily.

I got a sick reputation for handling broads,
all I need me is a few seconds or more and it’s a wrap.
You can tell the lady to bring my lap and I ain’t coming back
so you can put the car right there.

Handing over the keys to his baby with a curled bill worth more than a century, Kouga smirked as the attendant dropped his bored air to bob a bow his way and stutter out some stupid nonsense about how he would take good care of the custom Mercedes.

“Just don’t fuck it up.” The wolf youkai growled, blue eyes glinting a threat even though he grinned at the valet’s anxious nods and reassurances.

Turning his attention from the stupid ingrate, Kouga allowed the catchy music to draw him toward the guarded entrance. The crowds waiting out in front of the club were roughly pushed aside as the youkai sauntered past them, taking the steps two at a time, and ignoring the bulky bouncers guarding the door and their various “Evening, Mr. Yorokuzo.”

“Who is that guy?”

His sharp ears twitched at the complaining, impatient voice and he grinned as the irritated girl’s cute companion admonished, “Shh! You want us not to get into the hottest club in New Tokyo? That’s Yorokuzo Kouga, he owns this place!”

The first girl looked at him with something more appreciative, and Kouga chuckled to himself. Too bad the chick wasn’t cute enough to consider getting to know better. There were far too many fish in the sea for him to play with…

And speaking of exotic fish, he might have just found one who would do for the night. He had been feeling a little tense today, having spent way too much time with his accountants, who always insisted on going over every single fucking little thing. A hot little eager fuck might be all he needed to get unwound, and that sweet little honey looked just about right. Kicking curves and wide blue eyes, black hair flowing free and wild down her back, she was sandwiched into a red dress that just emphasized how curvy she really was.

*Wonder why she’s hanging around that mutt, though.*

Still, it wouldn’t be that much trouble drawing her away from him. Inuyasha was, after all, just a hanyou, and not a full-blooded youkai. Although the dog got plenty of action---women just fell all over themselves to get a tickle on those cute little dog ears. Disgusting, really. Still, Kouga knew that Inuyasha used them damn ears to get at what they both wanted and often competed good-naturedly for---women.

No, it shouldn’t be too hard to get that hot little onna away from the stupid dog. He just had to exert a little bit of his famous charm, and she’d be eating right out of his palm…

I’m the truth and I ain’t got nothing to prove
and you can ask anybody cause they seen me do it.

Inuyasha actually let out a low growl as he approached the pair, hanging out together with drinks in hand. The raven-haired beauty was standing far too close to the hanyou for Kouga to like it much, but his fangs flashed in a smile at the challenge in Inuyasha’s belligerent stare.

“Didn‘t expect to see you here so early, mutt-face.” Kouga’s smirk grew as those damn ears twitched and the silver-haired hanyou all but glared at him.

His smile was warmer as he turned interested blue eyes on the hottie at the hanyou’s side. The girl was small, the top of her head only came to his shoulder. Still, she could do things to a dress that made his blue eyes glint in approval. With a suave move, he took hold of the girl’s free hand and turned it over so he could lightly kiss the delicate white wrist, feeling the increased rate of the girl’s heartbeat as a pretty blush crept up her cheeks.

“Care to introduce me to your friend?” Kouga’s attention was all for the girl, but he raised an eloquent black brow at the hanyou’s cranky response.

“No.”

Barricades, I run right through ’em, I’m used to ’em,
Throw all the dirt you want, I’m used to it.

Wasn’t that interesting. Inuyasha was acting almost downright possessive over this little female. The hanyou had even slammed his drink down on the nearest table and would have all but snatched the girl’s hand out of the wolf’s claws if he hadn’t been stopped by Kouga’s sly look of smug appraisal.

“Kagome, this ass hole is Kouga.” Hardly flattering, but Kouga just smiled into the girl’s sapphire eyes, thinking the game might just be getting even more interesting.

“It’s a pleasure.” He said, kissing her wrist again, wondering how far he might push the issue.

Not far enough, it seemed, because Inuyasha had had enough. With an amber-eyed scowl, the hanyou’s claws shot out to grab Kouga’s wrist. “You can quit groping the poor girl, wolf-boy.” He grit out while slowly twisting the bones together.

*Good grip.* Kouga noted with amusement as he dropped the girl’s hand and plucked the hanyou’s hold from off his wrist with a good, grinding twist of his own. The girl, pure innocent, just stared at their silent battle of wills with charming confusion in her pretty blue eyes.

Very well. Inuyasha wasn’t going to give this one up without a fight. Kouga could certainly understand, the girl was something more than the average, man-panting club-slut. Could be Inuyasha had more interest in her than just a night alone, the way he was acting. Kouga could be gracious, and let dying pigs lie. He knew when he wasn’t wanted, and so he bowed his way out with a gracious whisper in the girl’s ear that had her giggling as the hanyou’s golden eyes flashed.

If looks could kill, he would have dropped dead right then and there.

Chuckling, Kouga went looking for easier game. A firm friendship wasn’t worth spoiling over a little piece of ass. Besides, there were plenty here who would be more receptive to his not inconsiderable charms. That girl had barely glanced at him, her attention was all for that damn mutt.

Pity. Would have been fun…

Still gonna have a pent up in a fabulous room,
bone her back picking at a basket of fruit.
(I love you, boo.)
Yeah, freaky Petey love you, too.
Ha, ha, you know how I do it.

Seeing he was free, Kouga made his way over to the large, circular bar that divided the lower dance-floor from the upper area of small, intimate tables. Both sides were crowded, with little room to move. To be seen in ‘Rave’ was to be known---something Kouga banked on with outrageous prices, hot music and hotter crowds to draw in the pretentious. It was funny how people seemed to sense him coming, and the way always cleared, no matter how many others jostled closer together.

Turning his head, he grimaced. The woman bearing down on him was forcefully clearing the way with rude shoves and vicious insistence. It figured Ayame would be here, she was always hovering around, always trying to get back with him. He wanted none of it---she had been good for a while, but her grasping, greedy ways had soon palled, though her rather unique talents in the bedroom had made him ignore it for a little while. She was a hot little red-head, but her temper matched that hair, and he had had enough of her bitchy jealousy to last him ten lifetimes. He wasn’t about to sacrifice this one.

Giving her a faint nod and a charming smile that had the horny youkai licking her painted red lips---thinking she actually had a chance---Kouga adroitly slipped through a tangle of startled people even Ayame would have trouble getting past. Taking advantage of the confusion as Ayame snarled a protest, he wandered over to the far side of the bar, away from the gyrating dance-floor and into the darkened quiet of the upper deck.

Good gods, that had been close.

You may look at me and think that I’m just a young girl but I’m not
Just a young girl, baby, this is what I’m looking for.

The corner of her lips twitched as Sango watched some thwarted man-hunting redhead snarl as her prey escaped into the cluster crowded around the bar looking out over the dance-floor.

Now that had been funny.

She tried to catch a glimpse of the woman’s so-called ‘prey’, but only caught the flash of a white sports coat and straight black hair swept into a ponytail like she herself preferred. Kept the damn mess out of her face, and it was easy to brush back and be done. She wasn’t one to spend much time primping in front of a mirror. Her concession to tonight had been some lip-gloss borrowed from Kagome and a dress she would rather she had not borrowed…

Speaking of Kagome, she finally spied her friend, making a beeline for her table and dragging her own prey after her, one with a strange look on his face. Sango’s brown eyes widened as her glance passed over several tell-tale features. Silver hair and yellow-amber eyes, twitching dog ears and an outfit, though rumpled and actually casual for a club like this one, that still oozed expensive in every torn line of leather and denim.

*Huh. Looks like Kags found her hanyou.*

Studying him, Sango wasn’t that impressed. He looked petulant; put out, even. Kagome was chatting away in his ear (or what she could get at of the twitching white triangle) a mile a minute, and the look of absolute disbelief on his strong, tanned features made Sango sigh. It didn’t look like Kagome had done much in convincing him of the real reasons they had come to this sweaty cesspool seeking him out. His reputation must have been worse than even she had thought. Spoiled little rich brat, did it really matter that Kagome’s cousin Kikyo had said they could trust him? Kikyo was an odd stick. Sango never could trust the Ice Queen, and hadn’t liked taking her advice. But their situation was desperate enough that they were at the point where anyone would have done in a pinch.

Even a belligerent hanyou with a chip on his shoulder, crazy as the thought was.

I want a sexy independent gotta spend it type that’s getting his dough.
I’m not being too dramatic that just the way I gotta have it.

Ayame had succeeded in finally working her way around the crowd overlooking the dance-floor. Catching a flash of angry green eyes and dancing red pigtails, Kouga straightened from the delectable blonde morsel he had charmed into sharing a drink and a table, and made a quick excuse so he could slide away unnoticed. The blonde pouted but pressed a folded napkin into his hand with a hot look of molten promise. Kouga nodded with a slight smile, his mind already thinking of where the hell he could go to escape that red hellion.

Why the hell he was running around his own club like one hunted was just damn ludicrous. But Ayame’s grandfather had been good friends with his father, and was still a close business associate. Avoiding her had always seemed the best course in not offending her, or her old man, who he respected---a lot.

The best course would be to find something to make Ayame think twice about her chances with him. Some girl hot enough to give the vain redhead pause. She’d see right through the ploy if it wasn’t someone who wasn’t even more desirable than she, herself, was. And sad to say, Ayame was one hot youkai piece of ass.

Now, that blue-eyed little angel Kagome might have done the trick. She was definitely in a class far above Ayame’s crass charms. But Inuyasha had already staked his claim on that little hottie, and Kouga grimaced as he saw the hanyou actually sitting not too far away, at a table in the back corner, sandwiched between that sexy little kitten and another girl who seemed not so bad herself…

A black brow rose, and a slow smile dawned.

Kagome had a friend? How…convenient.

I bet you want my body,
Bet you thought about it.

Sango stiffened as a warm hand slid familiarly up her bared back and across her shoulders just as she made to get up from her chair. Blinking in shock, she stared up into a rather innocent looking pair of light blue eyes that glinted with faint amusement at her stunned reaction.

“Leaving me already, koi?” The man---no, youkai---she realized with a chill, was oozing smug assurance of his own handsome appeal. Not that he wasn’t giving her pause---the guy could have posed for the cover of Hot Youkai with that tall, muscled frame, strong, handsome face and swept-back, silky tangle of black-as-sin hair.

“Darling, you can’t leave me. I just got here.”

His voice dripped sex. Rough, deep, and throaty. Sango felt a tingle go right to areas she hadn’t acknowledged in far too long at that knowing glitter of appreciation in eyes too gorgeous a blue to waste on a mere man.

Or youkai, rather.

Recalled to her senses by that chilling thought, Sango let a deliberate look of distaste flash across her features and plucked his clawed hand---his clawed, warm, firm hand---from off her shoulder.

“Does that cheezy line ever actually work for you?”

Got you all hot and bothered.
Mad ’cause I talk around it.

Kouga was stunned. Did he just actually hear her right?

No way. She couldn’t have just said what he just thought she said.

But Inuyasha’s loud guffaw at his expense just told him that he had.

Damn.

Suddenly quite interested, Kouga looked the furious woman over. She was better looking than he had even thought when he spied her across the room. Slender and lithe, rather than curvaceous like Kagome, she still had enough ample charms to make a youkai get whiplash. Her hair hung in a rippling tail down her back, bangs feathering across both cheek and forehead. Her skin was smooth and creamy, her features rather sharp and almost elfin. Dark eyes were framed by thick lashes, luscious lips and a stubborn little chin. She wore her beauty unconsciously, but didn’t need to resort to the paint a lot of women used to cover up their blemishes. Her body was something to make his groin tighten. Those legs alone, all ten miles of them, were toned and muscled to perfection, and he could just imagine them circled round his hips as she cried out her writhing pleasure on his black, satin pillows…

She must be used to cheap pick up lines and men falling all over themselves to get at her digits. His approach had been all wrong. She just needed a little coaxing, and his charm was not inconsiderable. With a beneficent smile, he bowed.

“Nice hit, koi. I admit you have won me over…completely. I’m yours. Just tell me what I can do for you…”

With a smile that had made women sigh from here to America, he waited with glinting confidence for her to fall right at his feet.

If you’re looking for the goodies,
Keep on looking ’cause they stay in the jar.
Oh oh oh oh oh oh yeah

Was the guy for real?

Sango just stared at him in disbelief. But disbelief soon gave way to a growing sense of irritation, which was getting very close to becoming outright pissed-offedness. He fairly oozed youkai arrogance, and she just bet he was expecting her to just fall over for that swill and let him have his way with her.

Which wasn’t that bad a thought…gods, he was sexy. He could probably teach her a thing or two to make her toes curl…

What the hell was she thinking? He was a damn youkai. A demon. The enemy.

“You can leave.”

That was a good come-back to that slimy line of his asking her what she wanted him to do for her. Sango was almost proud of herself for that one.

Kagome giggled, and her hanyou smirked. The dark-haired youkai merely lifted a finely arched brow, his smile slow and sensuous.

“Don’t you know who I am, koi?”

Just because you drive a Benz
I’m not going home with you

Was she supposed to care?

Dumb ass.

Tossing her hair over one shoulder, Sango gave the arrogant youkai a long, languidly assessing look. “Let me guess…a dickhead?”

His smile just widened, the glint in his too-blue eyes suddenly warming into a far-too-interested glitter of amusement.

Shit.

She had just made of herself a game, a hunt, a challenge. And to a wolf youkai, no less.

Gods, she could fucking kick herself.

You won’t get no nookie or the cookies
I’m no rookie
If you ain’t sexy, independent, I ain’t wit[h] it.
So you already know

Gods, she was good. And hot. Damn hot. She knew just how to play him, how to get his wolfish instincts all perked up and howling. So she liked the chase, well, so did he. He didn’t mind obliging her, if that was what she wanted. It was all a game, to all of them. There was no woman alive who could possibly ever say no to him. Not him, Kouga of the Wolf Demon Tribe, youkai, playboy, and all but royalty.

She messed with fire, that one. She just didn’t know close she was to getting burned…but in a good way. He could make her burn for him, make her scream for release when and wherever she wanted, and for how long he could keep it kindled, which was a long time indeed.

“Koi, how can you wound me like that? I don’t even know your name.” He allowed a little bit of hurt to creep into that plea. She saw right through it, but her friend didn’t, the sweet-faced little angel. Pure innocent, that one.

“He’s got a point, Sango.” Kagome was giggling at the girl’s glare, which was now aimed at both of them.

“Sango…” Kouga allowed her name to drawl out into a velvety growl, liking the allure of it. There was a long, inky strand of hair that had escaped her high ponytail to lie curling across her shoulder and breast. He picked it up with a delicate claw and sniffed lightly, the blue intensity of his eyes darkening with desire for her benefit alone as she stared up at him in surprise.

Surprise turned to a hard look, and she slapped his hand away with a sharp, defiant motion that had his youki flaring in snarling reaction. His instincts said to take her now, make her and mark her and show her just who was boss…

Kouga quickly reined in the more basic urges of his youkai nature, though his slow, toothy smile was pure predator.

Gods, she was good.

I’m not being too dramatic
That’s just the way I gotta have it.

Sango wanted to howl. That damn youkai was all but oozing sexual appeal from every damn pore of him, his youki darkening around him as those blue eyes took on a hint of the wild and untamed. Civilization was often only a thin veneer easily discarded by the true youkai.

And, gods above and below, she was actually even responding to it, in a basic, earthy way. Now, when she didn’t need it, or the complications of it, her hormones were finally starting to kick in. And not for some handsome man of her own species, but for a damn youkai with black hair and wicked blue eyes. Her body, often a mere instrument for her use, like any other weapon, was damn near betraying her by those hot, giddy feelings that stirred in her belly in answer to that blatant look he was giving her. She could almost see herself under him, clinging and crying out as he caught her, took her, filled her…

Fuck that.

She wasn’t some damn idiot to just get involved with a youkai without thought to what the consequences just might be. She was a taijiya, damn it. If that wolf knew, he’d kill first and ask questions after, when it really didn’t matter. If he learned about Kagome, or their plight, or any of the other crap they were doing a pretty stupid job at hiding, he would go utterly ballistic…

You may talk slick, try to hit, but I’m not dumb
I’m not being too dramatic it’s just how I gotta have it.

Kouga saw his chance the moment Ayame finally came sniffing near. Inuyasha got a rather pained look on his face, warning Kouga just before that whiny, strident voice came smacking him in the back of the head.

“Kouga! What the hell are you doing with that onna?”

The reaction of the two women rather surprised him. Instead of looking shocked, dismayed or even pissed off---any of which Kouga would have expected---one of them looked downright frightened, the other suddenly wary. Kagome looked like she wanted to slide down under the table, and that little tease Sango went from impudent to imprudent, the flash in her dark eyes telling him that she wasn’t about to have Ayame come over and railroad them. The little onna, feisty and sexy as that was, still couldn’t know what she was tangling with. Ayame could shred her with one deadly flick of those sharp, painted claws.

Which wasn’t in Kouga’s particular plans for the hot little onna. He planned to shred something other than her skin with his own claws. Like that sexy little strap on her short, black dress that kept slipping just that little bit from off of her creamy little shoulder…

Ever open to opportunity, Kouga seized the girl’s distraction, and grabbed her small hand in a viselike grip she couldn’t hope to release no matter how she struggled and jerked. He hauled her after him with a casual, “Care to dance?”

I bet you want the goodies,
Bet you thought about it.

“Kagome…”

The girl was straining to look over her shoulder, back at her friend. Kouga grinned, seeing the hanyou already herding the other girl away from Ayame to the other side of the bar. “Don’t worry, koi. The hanyou can take care of her. I’m more worried about you.”

“What?” She actually ceased her silent struggles to turn a glare on him. Damn, she was feisty.

“You don’t want to mess with that youkai, Ayame.” He said with a sexy grin.

She surprised him again. “Damn straight. She might recognize---”

She cut herself off abruptly, looking at him with a narrowed gaze.

Kouga dragged her down the stairs so quickly that she stumbled against him. He grinned at her furious look as he took the opportunity to haul her next to his side. The beat started picking up as bodies convulsed around them. Shoving his way through the mix of sweating anonymous lit by the glowing dazzle of myriad lights, Kouga nodded once or twice to muffled hails sent his way. Turning his wicked blue eyes on the sexy little onna, he murmured encouragement in her ear as he twisted her around and all but ground his hips into hers, his hands sliding down that smooth back to the luscious curve of her flaring hips so he could sway her closer and show her by example just how damn good he was…

Got you all hot and bothered.
Mad ’cause I talk around it.

Sango stiffened as she felt him enfold her in all of his gloriously male strength. Gods, it was hot. He was hot. He surrounded her in hard heat that she could just melt against. She nearly moaned as her body quivered in reaction to the slow grind of his hips into hers. The beat throbbed just as he hauled her tight against him, so that she could feel every evidence of his desire for her through the tight black leather of his pants. His hands, strong, broad, claws lightly caressing through the thin material of her skimpy excuse for a dress, curved possessively over her hips. He used the momentum of the music to haul her closer, nudging her thighs apart so that she straddled one hard, leather-clad leg. As the beat rose and thundered with wicked abandon, he dipped and rocked her in a motion that made the breath catch in her throat. Holy shit, he was good.

Too good.

With an abrupt movement, Sango jerked free, sliding out from his hold by the pure surprise of it. She whirled, seeking a way off of the crowded dance floor and away from him. He was messing too much with her mind, which she needed to keep clear and focused on the task at hand. He was somehow fucking with her head, and that was the last damn thing she needed right now.

Turning her head sharply to the right, her eyes widened as she made out a dim shape maneuvering along the shadowed fringe of the crowded dance-floor. A flash of white and green light flickered past the area, and she saw them edging their way closer, their eyes scanning the jostling bodies, seeking, ever seeking.

Shit.

*Kagome!*

Sango whirled, wanting to find her friend, get the hell out of here, and flee as fast and as far as she could manage from the danger that was even now circling around the club like a school of hungry piranha. How the hell had they tracked them here? Their whereabouts were supposed to be a closely guarded secret, though that cold bitch Kikyo could have betrayed them. She had always been jealous of Kagome’s burgeoning powers…

She hissed as a pair of clawed hands slid over her hips from behind. A hot breath whispered sexily into her ear as he hauled her back to him with coy strength, “Darling, you can’t be leaving me now. I’m not done with you yet.”

Was he fucking serious? Their enemies were closing in around them, and he wanted to dance?

Gods, he was infuriating!

If you’re looking for the goodies,
Keep on looking ’cause they stay in the jar.
Oh oh oh oh oh oh yeah

A sensuous smile curved across his firm lips as she all but growled at him. Damn, was she sexy. She didn’t even know, bless her sweet little innocent self. Her sweet little innocent sexy self.

Damn, he wanted her. Bad.

It was just a matter of time before she gave it up to him. She had already responded to him, albeit reluctantly. But that hot little body had a mind of its own, and if he played his cards right, he could work it so that she couldn’t help but burn for him as much as he was burning for her…

The music swelled and dipped, and he used the rhythm to nestle her sexy little ass back into his grinding hips. He could feel the breath expel from her in a gasp, and the sensual awareness unfurled again between them. Her heart was racing, and she made a small sound of half-hearted protest as his claws smoothed over the silky fabric of her tight little dress in a sensuous, nerve-heightening motion, moving inward over her flat belly before curving back down in a thigh-skimming caress of pure, erotic naughtiness.

He tilted her backwards a bit, making her momentarily lose her balance and fall back into his curving hips as his claws all but caressed the upper inside of her muscular thighs, snagging on the high hem of her flaring skirt and hauling it up a few inches as he ground into her. He smelled her arousal; she wasn’t as immune to him as she wanted to pretend. The hot little bitch wanted him, all right, and he was going to show…

*What the hell?*

They both stiffened as his wandering fingers bumped against something strapped tightly to her thigh. She hissed out a curse that made him grin even as his blue eyes narrowed dangerously. Plucking the hidden knife free with a deft twist of his claws, he abruptly spun her about in a dizzying turn to confront her with the evidence of her treachery, wanting answers, and now.

What the hell was she doing bringing an illegal weapon into his nightclub, and why the hell was she staring wildly around her like someone was after her sweet little ass? Turning his head sharply to the right, he saw them then.

Youkai---and ones not particularly interested in wanting to dance. They were shoving their way through the crowded dance-floor, their reddening eyes focused on the little onna he held by one wrist. A sharp look in her direction showed the whites of her eyes flashing as the breath heaved in and out of her in sharp gasps. Fear, and anger, were mingled in her tantalizing scent, and Kouga growled as the encroaching youkai closed in on them.

He didn’t blame them for wanting a piece of the hot little onna, but he didn’t think it was for the same reasons that he wanted her for. Not by a long shot.

Abruptly, the onna twisted out of his loosened grip on her wrist with a complicated move that looked far too effortless for his tastes. He suddenly found himself empty-handed as she retrieved her knife with an ease that had him staring in astonishment as she ducked past him and slipped into the crowd.

If she hoped to outrun those damn youkai, she was a fool. They were arrowing in on her, even as she wormed her way past gyrating dancers who couldn’t possibly understand just what was going on. With a growl, Kouga followed the beautiful little twit, jerking his head at Hakkaku and Ginta, two of his bouncers, to follow after him. He was damned if he was about to have an all-out brawl in his club, and he was damned if he was about to let that hot little onna get away before giving him a damn good explanation and a damn good reason to…

So damn hot but so young,
You ain’t got milk in your tongue, slow down little one.
You ain’t got it all, hey shorty, you don’t play the game.

Sango jerked sideways, avoiding the sudden lurch of a dancing couple by mere inches as she ducked past. She slipped by another girl, who stared at her in bewilderment as the flashing lights glittered on the sharp steel of her bared blade. Cursing under her breath, Sango all but bent over double and ran, the knife held tight to her chest, and skipped toward the back exits on the opposite side of the crowded floor. She hoped to lure the hunting youkai as far from Kagome as possible. Gods’ grant, that spoiled little hanyou might prove to be of some worth and herd the young miko away from trouble. It was a flimsy hope at best. Kagome might insist on coming to Sango’s aid, and that was the last damn thing she wanted.

Her best bet lay in luring the hunters back outside the club, where she might be able to face them in the deserted alley that ran along the back end of the closely-built structures. She had scoped out the area earlier in the day, when she had first learned of Kagome’s desperate plan to come to this damn club hunting out that stupid hanyou. Now, they were the ones being hunted, and Sango didn’t think all that highly of her chances.

Damn it, but this situation sucked.

A flash of dull metal to her right had her ducking just in time as a clawed, brass-knuckled fist swung for her head. Without wasting a breath on the preliminaries, Sango slashed with her knife, though she only nicked the pink-haired youkai. Green eyes glittered at her in smirking malice as he swung at her shoulder, hoping to dislocate her knife hand, or at least stun her arm long enough to drop the meager weapon.

Or maybe he just hoped to distract her.

Sango avoided the sharp claws reaching for her by mere inches and merest chance. Whirling, her leg shot out, taking out a kneecap as she used the momentum to jump off the second assailant and twist away from the first, who was now swinging for her head. There wasn’t much room to work with in the crowded confines of the club, and she dove beneath a startled bystander as the second youkai howled out in pain and stumbled to the floor.

Three more youkai were forcing their way toward her precarious position, and Sango, seeing the odds, turned and fled, pushing past an incredulous couple and diving under the brace-legged bouncer who guarded the back door. Shoving her shoulder into the heavy door, she was through was a grunt and a slam as the door whipped back against the chipped brick of the nightclub’s rear wall. The alley was black as pitch, a few dim lights up above doing little to penetrate the inky darkness.

The night air was bitch-frigid cold, and she felt a chill that raised goose-bumps on her bared arms. The door slowly swung back on its hinges. The bouncer, a thick meathead of a man, stopped it from closing with a raised hand and yelled something at her, something she couldn’t understand over the thundering music that swelled out into the chilly night.

She saw the poor lug’s eyes widen as he saw something just beyond her. Sango ducked just in time, as a heavy fist came out of the darkness to punch across the bouncer‘s cheek, crunching through bone and caving in his jaw. He crumpled to the ground with a gurgling moan, the blood seeping in a pool beneath his face. Sango dove again as another figure lurched out of the dark, twin knives glittering in the flashing light coming from the opened door. Someone screamed inside the club, noticing the fallen bouncer maybe, or somehow getting in the way of one of the other youkai now jumping over the bouncer’s prone body to come after the fleeing taijiya.

Sango cursed, seeing the two who now faced her, eyes red and fangs flashing with smiles of pure malice.

She was fucked.

You may be bad but you ain’t bad.
I’ll show you what bad is.

The fuck had better be worth it.

Kouga frowned with impatient disgust as he saw her dive beneath a calculated swing for her shoulder. He grinned in admiration as he saw the capable little onna kick out at her attacker, avoiding the second one. Forcefully pushing his way through the surprised sheep who danced on, oblivious to what was happening only a few feet away from them, he won free just as the girl dove for the back door.

The youkai who she had just kicked the shit out of stumbled to his knees, howling as his shattered knee-cap hit the floor. A woman cried out in surprise as he swung blindly in her direction, trying to use her as a crutch in order to get back on his feet. The first guy, brass-knuckles glinting on his curled fist, was already diving for the door, where his bouncer was already laid out like a damn door-stop.

Stepping up behind the kneeling youkai, Kouga laid him out with a deft jab to the back of the head. Eyes rolling up, the youkai hit the floor with a dull thud. Someone screamed behind him, and others were finally noticing that something was wrong. Hakkaku shouted out something behind him, but Kouga was too intent on going after the other three ass holes who were slipping through the door after the disappearing onna.

He got two of them at the door, using the old head-meets-head trick of knocking them both out at the same time. Reaching out, he grabbed both of the hairy fuckers by their long scalps and simply clunked their thick skulls together. They crumpled across the prone bouncer’s legs. The bouncer groaned, showing that at least the useless dumb ass wasn’t dead---yet. Kouga intended on having quite a few words with him when this fucking fiasco was all over…

Bad is when you’re capable of beating the bag.

They made it almost too easy for him to take them all out. Not that the cute little onna didn’t put up quite a fight---but she was outnumbered, and she was bleeding from a few minor wounds by the time he finally got outside. Surveying the inequitable situation with a cool blue gaze, Kouga grabbed the nearest one by the back of the neck and squeezed, claws digging. The youkai dropped his dagger to claw at the death-grip on his throat with hard desperation as he all but choked.

Seeing as how the others were intent on killing the young woman without a fair fight, Kouga felt no particular compunctions about showing any of them undue mercy. With a deft twist, he snapped the gasping youkai’s neck and threw away the lifeless corpse. For the first time, real anger was beginning to burn hot within him, and he let it free. Eyes glowing crimson promise, he snarled, his youki swirling through him, lengthening both fang and claw as he jumped on the next victim with no weapons needed past his bare hands.

I’ve been working at it ever since I came to this planet.
I ain’t quite there yet, but I’m getting better at it.

It was pathetic, really. They were no match for a daiyoukai of his strength and ability. He’d been fighting for years, these little whelps were as nothing compared to him.

Kouga smiled, fangs glinting in the dazzling technicolored display that flashed and flickered across the darkness of the back alley from the opened door. He reached for the nearest attacker, and grunted as the pink-haired youkai’s brass-knuckled fist landed in his gut. With almost casual ease, Kouga drew a sharp claw across the struggling youkai’s throat, ending the struggle before it had even begun.

The girl was doing her best to hold three of the attackers at bay. They circled her warily, one limping slightly from an opened wound on his thigh inflicted by her knife. The tallest one, his hair almost ghost-grey and worn in a single, long braid down his back, was waving a pair of wicked daggers about, feinting first one way and then the next. The other two were bare-handed, though one was pulling a needle-thin stiletto from his boot as the girl did an incredible kick in his direction, her foot connecting solidly with his bent head. The youkai let out an odd cry, and fell over, clutching his throbbing noggin in both hands.

Using their distraction, the girl darted in to thrust her own knife at the second, unarmed youkai. He casually backhanded her to the hard street even as her arm whipped out, opening his guts to the elements with an upward, slicing motion. Too bad her knife got caught on his ribs; as he jerked away from her in surprise at the sudden, sharp pain, he took her weapon with him as he toppled over backwards.

“You’re going to die for that, you fucking bitch!” The last youkai hissed, flipping his right-hand dagger into a points-down position. The girl sprawled awkwardly against the far wall, her back to the dusty brick, her hair a dark tangle down her back and shoulders as the spent breath heaved out of her in harsh gasps. She tried to struggle back up to her feet, where she might face the offensive ass hole from a better position than lying there like a meek lamb for the slaughter, but her seemingly inexhaustible energy had reached its limit.

“Looking for someone?” Kouga asked, his grin feral as he casually yanked on the long braid of ghost-grey hair that hung down the youkai’s back.

“What the f---” The youkai’s surprise was cut off as Kouga dragged him back long enough to get a good grip on the taunting youkai’s neck. The youkai choked on his surprise, and tried to swipe futilely at the ookami who held him in a tight death-grip. With contemptuous disdain, Kouga swung the feeble fucker into the unyielding brick wall, crushing his head like a fat grape as head met wall in a final, decisive confrontation.

The wall, of course, won.

Letting the mangled corpse drop, it left bloody streaks along the wall as it slowly slid down. Kouga bent over the huddled girl. Her head was bowed as the harsh, panting breaths of exertion slowed slightly. That delightfully naughty little strap had worked its way back down her creamy shoulder, and Kouga, feeling the blood-anger of battle draining out of him as his powerful youki slowly withdrew, touched her shoulder briefly with a solicitous claw.

“Darling, are you all ri---”

He sucked in his gut as he felt a razor-sharp tip pointedly press against the dark blue silk of his rumpled shirt. He stared down at the girl in astonishment. Her eyes glittered up at him, the small knife that had suddenly appeared in her hand held steady against the flat planes of his stomach with sharp emphasis.

“Back off, youkai.” She hissed the insult, dark eyes flashing.

Gods, she was hot.

Matter of fact, let me tell it to you once more again,
All I got to do is tell a girl who I am.
Ain’t nare chick in here that I can’t have,
Bada boom bada bam bam bam.

“Koi---” Kouga protested, hands spread wide to placate the touchy female.

“Now, ass hole.” She all but snarled, the point biting deeper, deliberately scratching a small tear in the silk of his collared shirt. Kouga went, though his narrowed blue eyes misted slightly crimson with anger.

“You play a dangerous game, darling.” He told her in a flat voice, void of any emotion.

She should have seen the danger signs.

“Whatever, playa.” She grunted slightly as she lurched to her feet, the sharp knife still held steady in her palm even as she kicked off her single remaining heel with disgust. Standing in her bare feet, she was still a beautiful sight to behold. Her short, flaring skirt had been torn up along one side, almost to her hip, and the exposed skin was smooth and creamy. Both thin straps had slid down off her shoulders, giving a good, long glimpse of the heaving tops of her full breasts. Her hair had fallen from her high ponytail to spill over her shoulders and back in long, inky tangles.

“I gotta go. Been real, youkai.” She slowly edged her way down the alley, hissing as she put weight on her left ankle. It was swollen slightly, a trickle of blood seeping down her exposed hip. Kouga didn’t like the sharp tang of her blood that hung in the air. She was bleeding more than she perhaps realized, or she was just too stubborn to care.

Hearing a startled gasp behind him, Kouga ignored those two damn twits, Hakkaku and Ginta, to cautiously follow her retreat.

She glared at him, stumbling slightly as her attention wavered before catching herself and leaning on her right leg to take weight off of the injured one.

Kouga grinned.

“You can’t be leaving now, koi. What’s between us ain’t half done yet.”

You’re insinuating that I’m hot,
But these goodies, boy, are not
Just for any of the many men
That’s trying to get on top.

Sango wanted to punch him. Her fingers even curled slightly, her fist just itching for the chance.

*Arrogant jerk. ‘Ain’t half done yet?’ What kind of shit is that?*

She was done, all right---past done. You could stick a fork in her, she was so damn done.

Ignoring the youkai and his too-blue stare, she tested her ankle. What a mess. She was a mess. She didn’t think a taxi would be willing to stop for her, messed up as she was, and if she didn’t get to it, she’d be standing here all night---or until that ookami got over himself and summoned the authorities. How he was going to explain seven---no, eight, for even as she blinked in stupid astonishment, that crazy wolf Kouga casually stepped on the last moaning youkai’s neck---the one she had taken out with a sharp kick to the head---and crushed his windpipe with casual disdain and little remorse.

It filled her with icy reminders of just how deliberately cold and brutal a youkai could be. No matter what interest he had in her, she had to get out of here, now.

Turning, Sango almost screamed as a pair of strong claws wrapped over her upper arms. The knife flashed in her hand, held low against the youkai’s groin with implied consequence as she growled a low warning.

“Damn it, wench! You cut that off and I’ll beat the shit out of you!”

“Inuyasha!”

Kagome stood, hands on her hips and indignation in her blue eyes. She looked a little windblown, but no worse for wear. Her skimpy red dress had been covered with the hanyou’s leather jacket, which swam on the miko’s slighter frame.

“Let go of me, hanyou.” Sango hissed, brown eyes narrowed as she pressed the knife the teeniest bit in annoyance. The hanyou released her with a growl and a grimace.

“Sango! What happened to your shoes?” Kagome, of course, was oblivious to the fact that they were surrounded by five dead bodies and two pissed off demons.

Sango shrugged awkwardly, her eyes darting from silver-haired hanyou to black-haired ookami, who had stalked over to stand next to his friend, arms crossed and look one of cool calculation.

No you can’t call me later,
And I don’t want your number.

While they had all sat there looking at each other like dumb asses, two other wolf youkai---one grey, the other sporting a white mohawk---had simply shoved the bodies out the back door like it was trash day. A fourth now appeared to grab the wounded bouncer by his thick legs and drag him back inside the club. Sango wondered just what the hell they were going to tell the customers. It was a hysterically stupid thought, and she needed to get her shit together and get the hell out of here.

“Kagome, let’s go.” She murmured urgently, taking a step back from the formidable pair who stared at her.

“We can’t leave, Sango.” Kagome argued, though she followed the taijiya reluctantly, used to following Sango’s terse orders. They had saved her ass more than once in the past.

“Where the hell do you think you’re going?” Inuyasha was more blunt than his urbane friend.

“Oh, that’s right. I have your jacket.” Kagome struggled to remove it, while the hanyou gave her a rather stupefied glance, a feeling Sango was all too familiar with when dealing with the young miko.

“Forget the fucking jacket.” Inuyasha all but snarled. “We want answers, damn it. You two have a lot of explaining to do.”

Sango stiffened.

“I already told you…” Kagome started, but Sango grabbed her wrist with hard emphasis to shut the hell up. Kagome did, though she gave the taijiya a hurt look.

“C’mon, Kags.” She lurched back another step, almost slipping on something wet and sticky she didn’t want to examine that closely.

“You’re leaving? Without so much as a ‘thank you’? Kouga, here, just saved your ass, girl.” The hanyou’s golden glare was fierce.

“Thanks.” Sango’s reply was caustic, though she did mean it. She just had to get the hell out of here before they summoned whatever passed for police in this wretched city. Kagome should never have started them down this wild goose chase. Naraku’s flunkies now knew where they were. They had to make tracks out of New Tokyo as fast as they could. She had a few c-notes back at the apartment. It might be enough to get them a train ride out to the next burgh, where they could lie low while she somehow made contact with their associates. Though she might not want to risk it; she had no way of knowing just who it was who had betrayed them to the dark oni…

That thought in mind, Sango started edging back away from the so-called scene of the crime, dragging a reluctant Kagome with her.

I’m not changing stories
Just respect the play I’m callin’!

“What’ll we do with these, boss?” Hakkaku asked with a gravelly voice, casually kicking one of the prone bodies at his feet. He looked curiously at the two girls who were gingerly backing away, but made no comment.

“Incinerator.” Kouga growled back, more sharply than he intended. Hakkaku scrambled to obey, Ginta looking over his shoulder as he started dragging bodies toward the cellar door that lay a couple yards past the rear door, which was now solidly closed against the curious.

Kouga was pissed. Those two trouble-makers come into his club, start all this shit, and have the fucking gall to leave without so much as a single thank you? They sure had balls.

“You can stop right there, darling.” His blue eyes glinted as he stalked forward, just itching to get his claws on the sarcastic little onna for something other than what he had originally intended. “You have quite a bit still to explain here.”

“We’re done, youkai.” The girl bit out as she hobbled back another step. Her voice was strained, even as she yanked on her reluctant friend to get her going. The metallic scent of her blood rose sharply.

“Sango! You’re hurt!” Took her friend long enough to realize that fact. Seemed like the sweet-faced angel was a little slow on the uptake.

“C’mon, Kagome.” The other girl, Sango, was too desperate. She was trying to hang on to reality by stubborn will alone. Kouga had to respect that, even as he waited for the inevitable. She was only human, after all.

Lurching two more steps, seeping blood and pure exhaustion finally overcame the stubborn chit, and she fell flat on her face in a dead faint.

Or she would have fallen flat on her face, if Kouga wasn’t suddenly there to catch her. He braced his weight as she slumped against him, his arms supporting her crumpled frame as her friend let out a dismayed cry. Inuyasha was tugging on Kagome’s sleeve as Kouga swept the wounded girl up into his arms. She was lighter than he expected. He grinned down at her. Fate never failed him.

“I told you we weren’t done yet, koi.”

With a jerk of his head, he led the hanyou and the anxious girl back out along the alley, the girl cradled tightly in his arms.

I bet you want the goodies,
Bet you thought about it.
Got you all hot and bothered.
Mad ’cause I talk around it.
If you’re looking for the goodies,
Keep on looking ’cause they stay in the jar.
Oh oh oh oh oh oh yeah

Kagome hurried to catch up with the handsome youkai who carried her dearest friend like a limp, rag doll. He stalked down the alley like he owned it. For all she knew, he might very well own it. She felt at a loss. Sango was usually the one in charge, the one to make the decisions for both of them. Kagome hadn’t ever seen Sango really hurt before. Wounded, yes, but nothing like this. Even during that bloody, terror-filled night, when they had fled the massacres of Kyoto as Naraku’s forces roused the youkai population to rebel against their ancestral human masters, Sango had been there, vitally alive and protecting her as they fled in secrecy from the bloody chaos behind them.

The silver-haired hanyou kept pace with her, hovering over her with a protective air that made her want to smile, even with all the worries that were now knotting her belly with uneasy disquiet. Kagome was surprised by just how much he affected her. Risking a glance out of the corner of her eye, she saw he was looking at her too, his amber gaze thoughtful. She could easily lose herself in those beautiful, darkly golden eyes of his. Flushing with the thought, she almost tripped over her awkwardly high heels. Inuyasha reached out a clawed hand to steady her, and Kagome smiled gratefully at him, pulling his leather jacket tighter around her thin shoulders, loving the smell of it. It smelled just like him: masculine, leather, and some expensive after-shave she couldn’t quite put a name to.

The black-haired wolf youkai had stopped abruptly at the end of the alley, where it let out onto a deserted side street. Turning his head, he growled, “What’d you ride in on?”

“My bike, of course.” Inuyasha smirked.

“Figures, mutt-face.” The other one---Kouga---turned his head to holler back at his friends or employees or whatever they were, “Ginta! Hakkaku! Get the car!”

There was a faint “Sure, boss!” on the slight breeze, and they all waited in tense silence as the two wolf youkai scrambled to obey. There was the sound of a door slamming, and the faint, low hum as a machine---incinerator?---started up. Kagome shivered, huddling into the illusion of security the large, leather jacket provided. She felt a strong arm curl over her waist, and she snuggled into the comforting embrace. A long, silver hair tickled her nose, and she couldn’t quite understand why it was she trusted the hanyou stranger so much.

But she had come to New Tokyo seeking him out, and maybe she had built him up to something he wasn’t in her idle, dreamy mind, but she trusted him like she didn’t trust anyone, except Sango. Though Sango would have argued with her about it. The taijiya would have insisted that Kagome gave her trust too easily, that she was too ready to believe in people who were more prone to turn on you and break that trust. But then, Sango had been made hard and suspicious by bitter experience. She wasn’t the carefree, confident girl she had been, the one with the ready laugh and the easy smile that could light up her beautiful brown eyes to a pretty cinnamon hue. Sango’s whole family had been slaughtered by Naraku, long before that dark night of terror when the oni had consolidated his hold on the city, and sent the youkai into a frenzy of bloody retribution on the humans who had once ruled over them…

A car suddenly screeched to a halt right in front of them, and Kagome shied away as a dark-haired youkai jumped out of the driver’s seat. But he wasn’t one of the ones she might recognize as Naraku’s minions, but another wolf youkai who waved at his ‘boss’ before high-tailing it back around the building without saying a word.

“Good, those fucktards know how to keep quiet.”

Kouga growled, but was too busy trying to shift Sango in his arms so that he could get the rear door opened to make a reply. Inuyasha gave Kagome a quick, reassuring squeeze before he left her to helpfully open the door for the encumbered wolf.

“Want me to drive?” The question was casual, but the glint in the hanyou’s amber eyes was pure smirk.

“Fuck my baby up, dog-breath, and I’ll kill you,” came the muffled retort as Kouga ducked inside the back seat of the expensive Benz. Inuyasha closed the car door with a roll of his eyes.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” The hanyou muttered as he stepped over to the driver’s side door. He raised a brow at Kagome, who hesitated briefly before trotting over to the passenger door. Sliding in, the hanyou leaned over to open her door so that she could climb inside.

The car oozed money. Kagome gingerly sat on the expensive leather, wondering at the warmth that came up from the cushiony seat. Primly snapping her seat belt closed, she relaxed into the comfort of it before looking curiously at the hanyou beside her, trusting him to take care of things.

“Where to, wolfy?” Inuyasha inquired of the rear-view mirror.

“The Towers,” came the impatient reply. “It should be safe enough there.”

Kagome’s eyes widened. The Towers? Naraku’s minions would never think to look for her and Sango there. Nobody they knew could ever afford to live in that exclusive complex of ultra-cool condos. She had seen them featured in Housekeeping Today back when she had had time to spare for such things as idle boredom. It had been one of her mother’s favorite magazines, and Kagome felt a sudden rush of intense sorrow for the stupid memory. She furiously blinked back the tears that threatened to fall. Gods, she was stupid. Here she was, sniffling over some stupid magazine subscription her mom had once had, and her best friend was lying near death in the back seat of a strange youkai’s tricked-out Mercedes in a strange city she would never in the world have expected to ever visit, sitting beside a strange hanyou with silver hair and the most adorable little dog ears she had ever seen, and…

A clawed hand reached out and awkwardly patted her on one bent knee. Kagome looked up at him, and he cocked a half-grin at her, trying to make her smile. She did, to reassure him, and he briefly squeezed her knee before gripping the oddly-shaped steering wheel. The streets were going by in a shadowy blur of streaking lights that should have alarmed her, but Kagome was suddenly too tired to care.

She glanced back over her shoulder, trying to catch a glimpse of her friend in the back seat. The interior was dim, but the ookami’s light blue eyes were faintly luminescent. He stared coolly back at her, the taijiya cradled against him. Sango looked so small and fragile held in those strong arms. Her hair was an inky tangle over his arm, her short dress riding up high along her bent legs.

“Is…is she okay?” Kagome hesitantly asked, worried over Sango‘s continued somnolence.

“She’ll do.” The ookami growled back. “Can’t you drive any faster, dog-boy? My grandmother could shuffle faster than this.”

Inuyasha merely grunted, but suddenly made a turn so sharp and wide Kagome had to grab on to the door handle or pitch forward against the constrictive seat belt.

“Watch it, ass hole!” Kouga easily shifted on the back seat, holding Sango tightly against him so he would not jar any of her injuries back open.

“We’re here.” Inuyasha said, smugly unrepentant as he lurched the car to a stop and turned off the engine. He got out and hurried to Kagome’s side to hold open the door for her before one of the waiting doormen could even offer. Kagome paused, looking around the well-lit area. Columns rose on either side, decorative plants in urns around the base of each. The driveway was actually tiled with a fancy design in something that looked like marble, the colors tastefully discreet in shades of gray and cream.

“Come on.” Kouga was already out of the car in a fluid motion, a bland-faced doorman holding open the rear door for him. Kouga cocked a brow at the impassive man. “Ernie, do me a favor and park the car. I’ll make it worth your while. And you saw nobody go up but me, got that?”

“Yes, sir, yes, Mr. Yorokuzo,” the doorman nodded stiffly, used to the odd vagaries of rich youkai clients. He had been hired by the exclusive Towers for his discretion and his sense. He slid into the front seat as Kagome slid out, Inuyasha keeping hold of her arm as she stared about her in wonder.

Kouga led the odd party up the wide steps that fronted the beautifully-glassed entrance. There was even an etched motif along the brass-handled doors, which two maroon-clad doormen held open for them as they sauntered past. Kagome barely got a chance to look around as Inuyasha all but hauled her along. She had to take two short steps for every one long stride of his, and her heels made an odd, echoing tap-tap-tap on the marbled floors as they crossed the wide hall.

She half-expected to see another uniformed doorman manning the elegantly appointed elevator, but the mirrored interior was empty. Inuyasha braced open the door and nodded Kouga in first. Kouga went, easily swinging Sango’s dangling legs clear of the entrance. He stood at the back, his face oddly expressionless as Kagome gingerly followed him. She sank down on the long, cushioned bench that covered two sides of the spacious elevator’s interior. Inuyasha stepped inside, allowing the doors to close as he thumbed the floor he wanted. Risking a peek, Kagome noted that he selected the very top floor, of course.

Both males remained silent as the elevator swiftly rose. Kagome would not have realized that they were even moving except that her stomach gave that funny little lurch that all elevators gave her as they started climbing. Inuyasha folded his arms over his chest and Kagome wondered uneasily what her two companions were thinking about. She didn’t have too much time to worry about it, though, for her stomach flip-flopped again as the elevator came to their floor.

The doors opened on a short hallway. Kagome teetered to her feet as Inuyasha stepped off. Her heels sunk into the plush carpeting, and she stumbled slightly at the unfamiliar footing. Inuyasha’s hand snaked out to catch her with easy strength. He kept his claws curled around her elbow as he steered her toward the discreet wooden door at the end of the short hall.

“Keys?” Inuyasha glanced over his shoulder at Kouga, who had followed them.

“Code.” The ookami replied in a droll tone. Inuyasha grunted, thumbing open a panel on one side of the solid oak door. Touching a quick series of numbers, the door unlocked with a quiet click. Pushing it open, the hanyou led Kagome to one side so Kouga could follow them in.

Kagome’s mouth fell open as she stared around her. Lights embedded in the ceiling had come on as they entered, and others were turning on one by one, as if by a preset arrangement. Most were discreet, amber glows that highlighted some piece of fine art or backlit the shiny green leaves of various potted plants. There was even a set of trees that grew in tall, leafy prominence on a sort of dais at one end of the long, open room. The ceiling went up out of sight, covered in clear glass darkened by the night sky above.

Kouga crossed the circular dais that made up the entrance, stepping down three broad, marble steps to the lower level of the wide-flung living room. At least, Kagome assumed it was the living room, because there were various couches and chairs set here and there, some in more intimate groupings, others facing various windows or views or standing alongside some rather odd looking pieces of furniture. The cabinets themselves could have held anything, from a giant, big-screen TV to a whole cellar full of fine wine.

The young miko felt ill-at-ease among such posh surroundings, but she set her own misgivings aside to hurry after Kouga. Sango was the one who needed her attention right now…

Kouga gently laid the unconscious taijiya on a dark maroon chaise lounge. She looked small and pale amid the lush velvet. Kagome knelt at her side, grabbing one of the limp white hands in hers. She stared up at the two males, who conferred in quiet voices. Inuyasha came over to her as Kouga disappeared through one of the many doors that lined the airy space.

“Sango-chan,” Kagome whispered, brushing back the whirling black tangles from off her friend’s forehead. The pallid skin felt cool to the touch, but the taijiya didn’t stir. Kagome turned worried eyes on the hanyou, seeking reassurance. “She’s hurt bad, isn’t she. Will she be all right?”

“Yes, but she’ll be fine, angel-eyes.” The firm assurance didn’t come from the amber-eyed hanyou, but from his friend, the ookami. He had a variety of things held in his arms. He dropped the pile into a nearby arm-chair and removed his white sports coat. The collared blue silk shirt beneath was wrinkled and torn a bit. A few dark stains made Kagome lower her eyes in embarrassment. She found herself particularly fascinated by the fact that the lowest button had been torn off, a single blue thread left to dangle forlornly where the button should have been.

“Hmph.” Inuyasha stood up, his eyes almost gold in a sour glare at the miko’s singular preoccupation with the ookami‘s clothing. “Need help?”

Kouga shrugged, picking up a bottle of disinfectant and a pile of fluffy white towels that bore a stylized K/Y on their hems in black and gold embroidery. “Get me a drink, would you? Scotch.”

Grunting, Inuyasha stalked over to one of the cabinets that stood along the wall. Kagome stayed beside her incoherent friend. “I can help,” she offered shyly as the black-haired youkai knelt on the other side.

“Are you squeamish?” He cocked a black brow at her.

*Yes.*

“No.” She lied, tightening her hold on Sango’s limp fingers.

“Liar,” he whispered to her, grinning slightly but holding out the bottle of hydrogen peroxide and handing over a pile of hand towels.

Kagome giggled, letting go of Sango’s hand to take up the ookami’s offering. Unscrewing the bottle’s cap, she liberally doused the first towel with the clear, astringent liquid, making a face at the bitter smell. Hearing a faint, ripping noise, she looked up and almost dropped the bottle at the sight of Kouga gripping both ends of Sango’s short black dress at the torn hem and tearing it apart in one, smooth motion.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing!” Kagome protested in mortified fury for her helpless friend.

“You don’t need to shout, angel-eyes.” The ookami narrowed a cool blue gaze on her outrage. “Your friend is hurt. I need to clean out her wounds. The dress was torn already.”

“But…but…” Kagome continued to protest feebly, though she could see the youkai’s point. There was a shallow gash just above Sango’s hip, and a bruise swelling just above her strapless black bra. Blood was seeping from under her bent arm, and there was more bruising on the upper part of her stomach, along her lower ribs.

“Oh, Sango-chan.” Kagome felt miserable. Tears blurred her eyes as she daubed at the dried blood that had trickled down the taijiya’s exposed hip.

“She’s going to have a spectacular black eye.” Inuyasha commented as he set a filled glass by the ookami. Kouga merely nodded, lifting Sango’s arm so he could take a look at the nasty gash that still bled sullenly just above her black bra’s side.

“Won’t need stitches.” The youkai took some of the towels from beside Kagome and liberally poured peroxide across the opened wound, which bubbled and frothed in agitation.

“Is he a doctor?” Kagome whispered to the hanyou, who sat back on his ass, sipping from his own glass and watching the proceedings.

“Nope. Just practiced.” Kouga answered her with a fang-tipped grin before turning his attention to unwinding bandages from a thick roll of gauze. He used his claws to tear right through the tough fabric, and Kagome shivered at the sight, lowering her eyes to studiously clean the cuts along Sango’s hip. Spying another one on the inside of the taijiya’s wrist, she pressed a clean towel against the shallow graze.

The two males exchanged a telling glance above the miko’s bent head.

“Perhaps you should tell us what that was all about, hmmm?” Kouga asked with deceptive mildness as he carefully bandaged the disinfected gash on Sango’s side.

Kagome hesitated, looking from amber eyes to blue. Biting her lip, she finished cleaning the scrape on Sango’s wrist before sitting back on her heels. “Ah…”

“We have a right to know just why those youkai attacked you, miko.” The wolf youkai raised a brow at her astonishment.

“How…?” Kagome stared at him, blue eyes wide.

“How did I know? It’s written all over you, angel-eyes.” The ookami smirked.

“Feh.” Inuyasha crossed his arms, glaring at the casual endearment. “It’s your aura. It’s shiny.”

“Strong.” Kouga added as he lightly touched the bruises on Sango’s ribs. The taijiya’s breath hitched a bit as he pressed more firmly. Grunting, the ookami unwound more gauze from the roll. “Bruised, I think, not broken.”

Kagome blinked at the sudden change of topics. “What?”

“Your aura.” Inuyasha supplied with short patience. “It’s strong.”

“Oh.” Kagome looked down at her hands, folded in her lap.

“Hold her up, would you?” Kouga jerked his head at Inuyasha, who complied by picking up the limp taijiya so that the wolf could wound a long strip of white cloth around the bruised ribs. Taping it firmly in place, he nodded so Inuyasha could lay her back down on the chaise lounge.

“How come she hasn’t woken up?” Kagome asked in a small voice.

Kouga shrugged. “Tired, I guess.”

Kagome looked at her hands again. Gods, she felt helpless and weak. It was all her fault. It was always her fault. “She protects me, you know.”

“Figured that one out myself, angel-eyes.” Kouga gave her a bland look.

“Enough with the angel crap, wolf.” Inuyasha growled suddenly, his yellow gaze intense.

“Heh.” Kouga grinned toothily before shrugging his compliance. He took a long, thirsty drink from his tumbler of straight Scotch.

“Why were those guys after you?” Inuyasha brusquely changed the subject with irritation. “You told me something about Kikyo…”

“She’s my cousin.” Kagome said, her expression distant, thinking of how much she resembled the powerful priestess. All but for the color of their eyes.

“Her eyes were brown.” Inuyasha stared at her as if weighing their resemblance as well.

“You knew her then?” Kagome asked curiously.

“Yes.” The hanyou threw back the rest of his whiskey and refused to explain.

“The youkai?” Kouga prompted dryly, even as he carefully turned Sango’s head to look at the green and yellow bruise that was flowering just below her right eye.

“Um, well, er…” Kagome hedged, wondering how much she could really trust them. *Fine time to worry about it now.* With a mental shrug, she decided to just go with her instincts and spill everything.

“We’re being hunted by an oni. Naraku.” Kagome said in a rush.

“Naraku?” The ookami’s head jerked up and Inuyasha growled.

“You know him?” Kagome asked, blue eyes hopeful.

“You could say that.” Kouga met Inuyasha’s eyes in another long, telling glance.

“Why is he interested in you, miko?” Kouga dropped another soiled towel on the pile of others abandoned beside the chaise.

“Ah, well…” Kagome blushed, not knowing what to say or how to explain the oni’s singular fixation on her.

Inuyasha suddenly grinned. “Has good taste, at least.”

Kouga merely looked skeptical. “Granted, you’re pretty cute, angel-eyes, but Naraku never does anything that doesn’t benefit him in more ways than one.”

Kagome nodded, eager to change the subject of the despicable oni’s lustful desire for her. “I think it’s because I have a miko’s powers, but don’t have much training in how to use them.”

“Oh?” Kouga raised a thick brow, his attention suddenly intense.

Kagome shivered under that look. It was so---youkai.

Feeling her sudden tension, Inuyasha abruptly stood. “Well, I think that’s enough for now, wolf-boy. I think you need some privacy, don’t you? To finish up that onna? I don’t think Kagome would totally understand what you might have to do.”

“What do you mean?” Kagome asked, alarmed by the hanyou’s casual tone.

“She…ah…needs a few stitches.” Kouga lied point-blank.

“Oh.” Kagome accepted it as gospel, and stirred uneasily. Dabbing at blood was bad enough. Watching as her friend was sewn together with a needle and thread was a bit too much for her to handle. But she didn’t want to leave Sango until she was sure she would be all right.

“She’ll be fine, Kagome.” Inuyasha touched her shoulder, his eyes holding something she couldn’t quite name. It made her breath catch, though, and her heart fluttered in her chest. Swallowing, Kagome nodded as a blush crept up her pale cheeks.

“C‘mon. You must be tuckered out. I’ll show you a place to crash.” Inuyasha held out a clawed hand to help her up. Kagome accepted it with a shy, grateful smile.

She stopped suddenly to say, her blue eyes slightly wet, “Thank you, both. Very much.”

Kouga gave her a terse, distracted nod as Inuyasha nudged the young miko toward the other side of the large room and the various doors that led off of it. The hanyou distracted her by saying equitably, “Hope you don’t snore, miko.”

Kagome blinked up at him. “What do you mean?”

“Well, I sleep light and wake easy,” was the hanyou’s lazy response.

Kagome gave him a suspicious look. “What do you mean?”

“Well, seeing as there are really only two bedrooms in this fucking dump, I guess that leaves us to share one of them.” Inuyasha lied just as easily as the ookami, who smirked behind them.

“Oh.” Kagome was at a loss as the hanyou turned a knob and the door swung open.

“After you.” His smile was pure youkai.

I bet you want the goodies,
Bet you thought about it.
Got you all hot and bothered.
Mad ’cause I talk around it.
If you’re looking for the goodies,
Keep on looking ‘cause they stay in the jar.
Oh oh oh oh oh oh yeah

Kouga studied the slender onna with a scowl. Rubbing his tongue lightly over his sharp fangs, he considered where to bite first. What he would like to do was nibble on the sweet little valley between her full breasts, but that delight would just have to wait for now.

Coming to a decision, he bent over the prone woman. Gingerly pulling her right cheek toward him, he lightly licked the soft skin. It was slightly salty. Using the barest brush of the sharpened tip of his fang against her delicate skin, he quickly drained the blood from beneath her bruised eye. He didn’t get all of it, and it was a rather nasty business, but it would reduce the swelling and lighten the black eye she had gained from that fight outside his club.

The bruises just above her breasts were too light for a draining of the blood to do much good. He was a bit disappointed by that fact, though he kissed a flowering bruise with a lusty grin of mock apology before turning his attention to the gash just under her arm. Manipulating her like a doll, he turned her so that he could pull off the make-shift bandage and use the healing properties of his saliva to seal the wound shut. He wasn’t sure just how much good it would do the little onna, but it couldn’t hurt.

He took great pleasure in finding other various scrapes and licking them clean, though the sting of the astringent made him grimace in distaste as he spit it out into his empty glass. He should have filled another glass of whiskey to clear out the nasty aftertaste, but he wanted to make sure he took care of all the girl’s wounds.

It was just his luck that the girl finally woke up just when he was licking the back of her neck, where it curved down to join with her shoulder. Her reaction was just what he might have expected of the high-strung wench.

He knew she had awakened by the sudden, indrawn breath and the abrupt rise of adrenaline in her tantalizing scent. He had a bare second as she tensed beneath him before a balled fist came flying for his head. That was easy to grab, as was the knee she then sent for him, though the acrobatic move would have caught another, weaker youkai by surprise. Had the move actually worked, the girl would have used the momentum to flip off her back to land neatly on the balls of her feet beside the chaise lounge.

As it was, he had her in a rather interesting position, one leg raised and bent, an arm pinned back and her hips raised up so that he had a nice view of the firm muscles of her curving ass, not to mention a front-row seat right between her thighs. Too bad her underwear---white granny-panties, as a matter of fact---covered most of her hidden treasures.

His gaze wandered slowly down to lock eyes with hers, and he chuckled as a firm blush rose to stain her cheeks. Her eyes glittered, and he found out quick enough that she still had another leg free to knee him with. Avoiding the kick by the simple expedient of tumbling them both over the side of the maroon chaise, Kouga tightened his arms around her to first cushion her fall, and then to keep her immobile as they finally rolled to a stop.

Using his weight to pin her beneath him, he grinned, liking the play. “Darling, I’ve been trying to get you in this position all night.”

She wasn’t pleased, not one bit, and if looks could kill, he would have been one dead wolf right now.

“Fuck you,” was her succinct answer.

He just smiled.

Gods, she was hot.