InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ First Class Dog ❯ No Dogs in the Pool ( Chapter 9 )

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You guys are freakin' awesome! I've had some reviewers give me excellent ideas for the upcoming chapters and again I implore you all to keep the ideas coming! One reviewer I suspect is catching on to what direction I might be going in with the Baines siblings, which is totally cool. I'm sure another reviewer is going to see that I've used their idea.

 

One quick note: I know there's a back story somewhere that talks about Inu Yasha's dad but these events precede that, so I'm assuming he thinks his dad is scum at the moment.

Note to self: It is day five.

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The daylight hours on the advent of the pool party were spent on reconnaissance. Their first order of business was to head to a book store barely a block away from the hotel. The two poured over books detailing the Baines family but learned little more than what Shiro had already told Kagome. Local newspapers indicated that both parents had held lavish birthday parties and press pictures showed a couple who looked their age. Had the Baines been immortal demons or half-demons they ought to have looked the same age as their own children. The miko even tried the tabloids and found nothing. Reynard Baines and Atsuko Baines were practically saints. They were renowned for their generous contributions to charities.

Inu Yasha had discovered in one of the papers that the hotel event they were currently attending had been awarded to deserving honors' students recommended by the faculty of various schools. They were practically venerated saints!

“Kagome,” The hanyou began, “I don't think these people are demons. I've never heard of any demons who shared their wealth.”

“What about your father?”

“I don't remember anything about him,” His voice was cold as ice “But demons aren't above taking who and what they want. Giving is another story.”

Stormy blue pools swept to meet his gaze. Inu Yasha knew it well. It was the mysterious look she gave him at random. At first, he had assumed it was pity, like the look Kikyo used to give him when he talked about his past. He knew better now but still had no clue what the look really meant. The dog-demon did not mind because he could always take a brief second to stare back. As long as he scowled right after she would never know how much he liked getting lost in her eyes for that very brief moment.

The second was up.

He scowled, “What are you looking at, huh?”

Her eyes darted away, her face flushed. The moment was over.

Inu Yasha snatched Kagome's fifth tabloid newspaper from her fingers. With a start the miko looked from the hanyou to the bookstore windows nearby where the sun had just begun to set. She stood up with a gasp.

“Oh! It's getting late. We've got to hurry back to the hotel or we'll miss the party!”

The two rushed off.

---

“Kagome! What the hell is taking so damn long?”

The dog-demon paced back and forth in the bedroom. He could barely hear the miko fussing in the bathroom. Normally, he would have been able to hear her every muttered breath, even her heartbeat. Tonight, though, things were different. His ears were inefficiently located at the sides of his head. Over the past few hours his ears had rounded, and the downy white fur had become tanned skin. Amber eyes had faded to orange and then deepened to a chocolate brown. The very last thing to change over entirely had been his hands. Thirty minutes earlier they had been weakened, yet still dangerous, claws of steel. Now, they were pathetic, rounded stubs. The demon—no, human—doubted that he could dent wood with his current nails. As he pondered the consistency of his fingernails the bathroom doorknob turned.

To Inu Yasha's dismay the miko emerged in a strange wrapped dress that had the same consistency of the fuzzy white cloth she used to towel off after bathing in the Sengoku period. Before he could comment she had already breezed past him, snatched up her keycard, slipped on a pair of sandals, and headed for the door. He followed behind her, disappointed that he would not get to see the skimpy suit.

The elevator ride up two floors to the exercise and pool area was awkwardly silent. Kagome kept her eyes trained on the floor the entire time and he assumed she was still lost in thought over the fake fragment and the Baines' family connection.

When the large metal doors pinged open to the correct floor the two stepped out. The half-demon walked partially ahead of her. Sounds of laughter and merriment echoed off the tall ceilings and high walls. He could smell a fragrance that Kagome identified as `chlorine,' it seemed to permeate the air. For the second time in his life he was glad he was a human for the night. The chlorine would have made him terribly sick had his sensitive dog-demon nose been working.

To his left a large, glassed-in area contained various torture racks that made him extremely concerned. Kagome just laughed and called them `workout machines.' It was very unsettling, but he accepted it. The doors straight ahead of him were also glass, past them was a perfectly rectangular pool tiled in the most unnatural shade of blue he had ever seen. The tiles made the water sapphire blue, like a massive, rectangular jewel. When they opened the doors the chlorine smell was ten times stronger but now he was fairly used to it. The couples had all gathered at the opposite end of the pool around the Baines siblings.

“I have an announcement to make!”

Shiro began as the two hurried to join the throng of onlookers. Inu Yasha could not help but think if the man smiled and bigger that his face might split apart.

“First of all, welcome to our little pool party, thank you all for coming.” Applause greeted his ears, then died down as he cleared his throat to continue, “My announcement for you all is that my father, Reynard, is going to be gracing our little masquerade ball!”

There was a collective gasp and murmurs between the couples about the huge celebrity. The man was in no way a recluse. In fact, from what Kagome had researched, Reynard loved to make cameos at his own benefits. The half-demon shot a glance in his companion's direction. From the expression on her face he could tell she was deep in thought processing the news. They would have to discuss the ramifications of the new development later. It would be a bad idea to try and speak about such things in a public place with Shiro and Ikume only steps away.

Ikume spoke, “Well, that's all guys. Now let's party!”

Immediately music began to thump in the background and lights inside the pool began to flicker in beat with the music, changing the color of the water to various hues, emerald one second, hot pink the next, azure again, and then yellow. The hanyou gazed at the water, entranced momentarily until he realized the miko was no longer at his side. For a moment he felt a spike of panic. His fear quickly transformed to shock as his brown eyes landed on the form of a girl in a familiar blue balling up the towel-dress in her hands.

The swimsuit she wore bore little resemblance to the one Kagome normally sported. The sky blue suit sported several ties. The top-half tied around the back of her neck in a halter which trailed down her front in two separate strips of cloth that combined into a single strip a few inches above her navel. From there the strip met with a small bikini bottom. What Inu Yasha found particularly interesting was the lack of sides on the swimsuit. Instead, some straps crisscrossed her back, under her arms, and attached to the sides of the strips that covered her bosom. Another short strap in between her breasts kept the two parts of the halter from opening to reveal anything more.

“Ahem. Eyes up here, boy.”

Reluctantly, the dog-demon fixed his gaze away from her body to her face. At that moment Shiro chose to stroll up to her. In one swift movement he swept a blue and white sarong around her hips and tied it on the side.

“My God, you look lovely.” He proclaimed. “It's perfect on you. I meant to give you this at lunch time but I couldn't find you anywhere. I apologize, I did not want you to have to trounce around exposed. All the boys might snatch you away.”

She stepped away from him and closer to the half-demon who glowered at Shiro. She was grateful he couldn't growl because he would have been doing it quite loudly.

“You have a lot of guts to touch her like that…” He began.

“We can't have all these men with their raging hormones staring.” Shiro coolly replied.

Kagome faintly detected the soft pop of Inu Yasha's knuckles. He was getting ready to give the man a swift beating. Without thinking her hand shot out, fingers curling around his wrist. His anger subsided by a small fraction as he watched Shiro's bright blue eyes fix on her hand. That was enough to encourage the hanyou to reach an arm out (dislodging her fingers) and wrap it around her shoulders. He pulled her close to his side. A triumphant smirk spread across his lips as the blonde man's eyes narrowed and a brief frown marred his pretty boy features.

“There you are!” A shriek of delight shattered his triumphant mood.

Ikume bounced over to the three of them, snatching up the dog-demon's free hand. The move further irritated Shiro.

“You have got to come over and meet my new friends.” She bubbled. “I told them all about our date. You acted just like a prince!”

Kagome had an extremely difficult time hiding a derisive snort that threatened to come loose. The miko was jangled out of the hanyou's grasp as Ikume yanked the startled man's hand, pulling him towards a gaggle of girls in bikinis. Shiro took the opportunity to whisk the girl away in a different direction. She glanced towards Inu Yasha who managed to quickly meet her gaze, allowing her to nod that everything was okay. She would make sure Shiro did not allow her to leave.

“So, I see you wore my gift. It looks good on you.”

She absently ran her fingers through her hair. “Yes, it's very nice.”

“What about the bracelet and necklace?”

Kagome had thought carefully about what she would say next before she replied, “They were lovely—but, the pendant you gave me is broken. That gemstone is in pieces.”

She had gone to a lot of trouble to choose her words well. The response did not imply that she had touched the gem. If he asked if she had touched it then it was highly probable that he knew a miko's contact with a fake Shikon fragment would make it shatter. That would then imply some demonic knowledge. His response raised more questions.

“I've never heard of any gemstone to be that fragile. It didn't seem like that when I had it set…”

Bright blue eyes closed in thought for a moment before he continued, “…Hmm. You said the stone broke, right?” She nodded, his eyes remained shut; a wrinkle formed over one eyebrow. Suddenly they opened and he snapped his fingers.

“I know. God, I'm such an idiot!”

“What?” She asked, more confused than ever.

“My mother warned me about this, she said it's happened before to some of her other friends. When you send an expensive gift through room service occasionally the staff will steal the stones out of the jewelry settings and swap them with glass. Luckily for you and I the fake stone must have shattered after it was replaced. Ah! I'm such a fool! I'll make sure I tell mother tonight so she can have the staff investigated right away.”

He grasped her hand and gave it a pat.

“I'm so sorry to ask this of you, you'll think I'm being terribly rude. Could you give me the bracelet and necklace back? I need to check and make sure the thief did not replace the chains as well. I'd hate to find out your pretty skin turned green from some cheap knock-off's rust.”

His concern seemed too genuine to be anything else. It was clear to her that he was not aware of the power of the Shikon fragments, real or fake. Many questions came to mind but the only thing that shouted back was a single thought: why couldn't he just have been a demon? This would have been so much easier if he was just a stupid demon!

“Should I send it back through room service?” She asked.

“No, no. The person responsible might get tipped off. No. Would you mind coming out to breakfast with me tomorrow and giving it to me then? That way none of the staff will get suspicious. Mom told me that the person who drops it off isn't always the one responsible; sometimes a senior member of the staff will let a lesser person take the fall to save their own skin. I won't have an innocent person fired.”

The look on his face made her even less inclined to believe that Shiro was a demon. Letting peons take the fall and asking questions later was far more normal for demons. Still, she had to ask some questions, just to be sure.

“Why not call the police?”

“Mom has been teaching me how to run the hotels for when she retires. She says the best way to catch these thieves is to hire a private detective. The police are notorious for making a scene and I wouldn't want staff getting tipped off. Again, I really don't want a blameless person to get arrested because the real culprit got spooked.”

“Well, all right. I'll do it, but Inu Yasha is coming with. He's seen it, too.”

Shiro nodded. “Yes, I'd better bring Ikume along, too. She'll need to know about this.”

It was a strange thing to Kagome. The only Shiro Baines she knew was the smooth-talking womanizer. Right now the Shiro before her was a completely different person. He did not seem the least concerned for himself; instead he cared what happened to his mother's hotel staff.

A loud splash and a yelp diverted their attention. They were just in time to see Ikume jump into the water behind the first person. The Marilyn Monroe-wannabe had pushed her prince into the pool after he had begun to grow bored with the conversation about how amazing he was. Sure, massaging his ego was fine with him but he would have been more interested had Kagome been the one gushing about him. Even though the dog-demon happened to be human at the moment his reflexes were still good enough to snag the girl's hand and yank her into the water with him.

At the bottom of the pool Inu Yasha crossed his arms and sat there for a short while, pouting. He could see Ikume make an immediate move to the surface. The water was disturbed again. This time a familiar figure appeared through the cloud of bubbles, her eyes were full of concern until they focused. Kagome scowled at him as she realized he was not drowning but pouting. He gave her a big goofy smile and she crossed her arms over her chest and tried to sit him but got a mouthful of water instead. With a victorious grin he returned to the surface with her.

The two broke the surface of the water at the same time. As soon as he had taken in a breath she looked right at him and tried to sit him again. He was prepared. Two hands shot out of the water, clamped down onto her head, and pushed her back down. Kagome had no chance to get the word out; however she was able to grab the rosary around his neck and give it a good yank, forcing the hanyou to follow her under.

For a second time they came up for air. She gave him a long, hard look and he was sure he'd be sent straight to the bottom of the pool via rosary. Instead, the miko burst into laughter. Without realizing it, his own laughter joined hers. Kagome had never heard him laugh so openly before and she found it incredibly attractive. Before she knew it his laughter had died down and he had begun to eye her suspiciously.

“What?”

With a start she realized she had been staring at him with a silly smile similar to the one the half-demon had sported not too long ago.

“Oh, nothing,” She replied.

“Nothing my ass,” was his impertinent response.

Seconds later a set of hands had moved around her waist. A surprised gasp slipped from her lips as she was lifted from the pool up over the hanyou's head and then back down into the water on the other side. At the same time several more couples jumped into the pool. The miko returned to the surface sputtering water. In response, she leapt onto his back in an attempt to force him under the water with her own weight. Inu Yasha did not move. What she had not noticed was that they had been slowly moving to a shallower end of the pool and unfortunately for her he could now easily touch the bottom of the pool. When she jumped onto his back he had no room to sink. This, however, did not prevent him from lying backwards in the water forcing her to either give up her place on his back to avoid him or stay put. She chose to stay where she was, hooking her legs around his so that his knees buckled, sending him down with her.

They separated and surfaced. He cracked his knuckles, ready to pounce but she raised her hands and laughed.

“Okay, okay, you win!”

“Of course I win.” He replied haughtily.

The rest of the pool party went by quickly. The two companions secretly wished it had not. The dog-demon had not had so much pure, non-violent fun in a long time and was surprised by how much he had missed it. He only vaguely remembered playing as a child with his mother and somehow the party had tapped into those lost memories. Kagome, too, was having fun. She was seeing a side of Inu Yasha that she had barely experienced. The most fun he allowed himself usually involved tearing demons apart, teasing Shippo, or poking fun at Miroku. She knew that once the pool party was over they would have to return to serious discussion. The Shikon jewel was practically a plague on her life. It seemed that the shards and their enemies were all they could ever hope think about. For the briefest of moments the two could afford a break from it all.

They lived for it.

-

Unfortunately, the party had to come to an end. It was not until the end of the party that the two realized that Ikume and Shiro had vanished. Neither could remember when they had left the party. Their absence was punctuated by the fact that an attendant gave a closing speech on the siblings' behalf. At that time it was also announced that the couples would be spending time at an amusement park in a few days.

Kagome briefed Inu Yasha on her conversation with Shiro only after the elevator attendant had let them off on their floor and the metal doors had cheerily chimed closed behind them. He was just as surprised as she that Shiro had no obvious knowledge of the Shikon fragment, yet he had somehow procured a false one. They now had to consider that someone on the hotel staff could be a demon.

They also had to consider that a private detective would also be haunting the staff so questioning anyone in the hotel outright would be out of the question. It had the potential to raise suspicious between the staff, the Baines, or the investigator. Rather, it was agreed that all information would have to be gleaned from Shiro and Ikume.

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Sleep came surprisingly easy to the two. Kagome had expected to spend many a wakeful hour that night pondering the new set of questions that arose now that Shiro and Ikume seemed to be ruled out as suspected demons. Inu Yasha still complained they `smelled funny' but she found herself attributing his misgivings to perfume and shampoo rather than demonic aura or scent. Instead, the miko found her mind concentrated on the party. She realized she had not had that much fun in a long while. The hanyou had been fun to be around. It was a novel thought. She even let herself consider a possible future with the dog-demon. If he could be as much fun as he was that night, then it followed that he might be able to live peaceful life after the Shikon jewel was completed. Dreams of a less improbable future quietly drew her to the land of unconsciousness.

Inu Yasha crashed on the couch. Out like a light. He had pushed his human body quite rigorously at the party and so, he slept the deep, dreamless sleep of the exhausted ones.