InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Guilty Hero ❯ The Gala: Part 2 ( Chapter 20 )

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In this chapter: A surprising revelation and a surprising addition

Guilty Hero

Chapter 19: The Gala (Part 2)

 

 

Kagome could hardly focus as the mayor started the gala, for her attention was divided between her patient, sitting slumped in the seat behind her, and her own nerves, which were at the breaking point. She was terribly distracted by the vast number of business tycoons, powerful politicians, and city heroes that surrounded her on all sides; she felt like a mouse in a room full of giants. And knowing that all of their eyes were going to be on her as she and Inu-Yasha led the first dance of the night made her want to crawl under the table and whimper until the night was over. The only thing that kept her from trying to escape was her concern for Inu-Yasha.

He was slouched low in his chair, rolling the cigar between his teeth absentmindedly as he stared at a spot on the floor, his expression stormy. It was astonishing the rapid deterioration of his demeanor once the gala started; she could practically feel the resentment flowing off him in waves. The mayor had only been speaking for a few minutes, but Inu-Yasha had already called Hojo over for a refill on his drink and downed it in a few swallows. Kagome assumed that the familiar action was the only reason he continued to drink, for she could tell from his pinched expression that it was the same watery concoction he had first been served. After a couple minutes, she noticed that he had slipped his hand into the inside pocket of his jacket, no doubt to take hold of his flask. Never removing it, she could only guess that he was trying to seek comfort from its presence, if not its contents.

She was just about to lean over and whisper a word of encouragement to him when suddenly a spotlight swung over to shine on their table, making her jump and look around in wonder; she wished she had been paying attention to the mayor's speech. Cringing a bit as applause rolled over them, Inu-Yasha slowly sat up and set his cigar in the ashtray Hojo had brought to the table.

“C'mon…” he grunted to her under his breath as he stood, Sango and Miroku following suit. “It's time for the dance.”

“Wha—already?”

Sighing heavily, he held out his hand and helped her to her feet. “You need to get your head outta the clouds—save that for the speeches.”

As she took his hand and walked with him over to the polished wood dance floor, she couldn't help but stare at him in wonder—had he just made a joke? Surely not. This was Stoneface Inu-Yasha on the worst night of the year; jokes were impossible even on his best day.

Stepping onto the dance floor, Inu-Yasha glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, and was relieved to see her merely looking at him with curiosity. He was doing his best to distract her as from all the eyes on them as they took position, for he could easily tell how nervous she was. He had snuck glances at her during the mayor's opening speech, and caught all of the telltale signs: she was constantly playing with her hair, smoothing her immaculate dress, crossing and uncrossing her ankles, shifting in her seat; hell, he could even smell her fear. Since it was, in a sense, his fault that she even had to come to this event, he felt some level of guilt for putting her through this, and was attempting to keep her calm, at the very least.

With a short glance at Sango and Miroku, who were already in position to begin, Inu-Yasha took a deep breath before turning to face Kagome, whose gaze had begun to wander over their audience. He felt her grip on his hand tighten, and saw her legs beginning to tremble as what little color had been in her cheeks drained out.

“Hey…” he growled softly, regaining her attention when he put his right hand on her waist and lifted his left into the proper position. “Don't look at those stuffed shirts—there ain't nothin' to look at out there.”

Seeing both the couples in their respective places, the conductor turned to the orchestra, tapped his baton on the music stand, and soon the soothing melody of an easy waltz drifted out across the room. Sango and Miroku quickly fell into step, doing simple moves so they could avoid looking silly, and even, Miroku dared to hope, enjoy themselves. Sango did have a lovely smile on her face, although he was unsure if it was a smile for the public, for it wouldn't do to have one of the guests of honor look as though she wasn't enjoying the gala, or if it truly was a smile of contentment. However, when she caught his eye, that smile was hard and frosty, and her grip on his left hand was practically breaking his fingers off. Confused for just a moment, he soon realized that his devil of a right hand had slipped a little too far down her waist and was resting quite comfortably on her bottom.

“Move. It,” she hissed through her teeth, her smile never breaking.

With a short wink, hoping to charm her enough to at least avoid a beating once the dance was over, Miroku slowly slid his hand up to where it should have been the entire time, grinning innocently at her. “Now now, my dear. While I do think you are lovely when you're angry, I find you to be even more pleasant when you're happy. Can't you try to be happy?”

Her grip on his fingers easing quite a bit, a light blush appeared on her cheeks as she replied softly, “I don't really have to try…”

On the other end of the dance floor, Inu-Yasha continued to whisper quietly to his partner, doing his best to keep her legs from giving out; he was half-carrying her already. “Pretend everyone else isn't here,” he murmured as they swayed about, hoping to keep her distracted. “Pretend it's just you and me in this entire room… No, don't look out there, look at me,” he said warningly as her frightened blue eyes gazed over his shoulder.

“Inu-Yasha…” she whispered weakly, clearly trying to hold back her fear. “There's so many people…”

Sighing lightly, he carefully pulled her into his chest as they continued to slowly step in time with the music. “Shut your eyes…” he said, his voice low. “There's no better time than now to believe that old saying: `If you can't see them then they can't see you'.”

Unable to argue, she buried her face in his chest, squeezing her eyes shut. “Just let me lead…” she heard him say softly into her hair, and she nodded shakily. “Don't worry,” he continued, speaking in a soft, deep tone to try and soothe her frayed nerves. “Once the mayor and his wife come out, it's an invitation for everyone else to join in. That's when we can get off, okay?” Once again, he got a short nod.

Lapsing into silence, he slowly led them around the dance floor, marveling at how… at ease he felt with Kagome so close to him. Normally he hated physical contact with people, but this felt strangely right. She seemed to fit perfectly into his embrace, and he was feeling the strong desire to protect her from whatever harm came her way, which currently was the mass of people watching them dance. Instinctively he put himself between her and the majority of the audience, doing his best keep her back to the orchestra, where very few eyes were trained on her.

Pulling her just a bit closer, he gingerly rested his chin on her shoulder and shut his own eyes, breathing deep her wonderful scent and once again surprising himself by his actions. Why the hell was he doing this? He had thought he was only trying to comfort her by giving her a familiar presence amid so many threats, but now he seemed to be giving in to his own need for comfort. Grudgingly, he admitted that he did feel far more relaxed around Kagome than he had ever felt before at a gala; her mere presence had a calming effect on him. Perhaps… He hardly dared to allow himself to think that he might possibly take one good memory away from the gala this year. In all six of his years in attendance, there had not been a single enjoyable moment, a single time that he could fondly look back on.

But this time… He breathed deep once again, trying to keep himself from sighing in pleasure. He had never felt comfortable enough to get this close to Kagome at his apartment, but here, with the excuse of a dance, he was able to break down his invisible barriers and simply enjoy her presence. And, much to his surprise, it felt wonderful, which was something he hadn't felt in years. The pleasure he found at the bottom of a whiskey bottle was nothing compared to this feeling.

Slowly, he opened his eyes, for something was niggling at his senses. Blinking, for he felt like he was waking up from a dream, he peered around and realized that all of the guests were now on the dance floor; the mayor and his wife must have invited them all to join without him knowing. He bit back a disappointed growl, then carefully jostled the girl in his arms, who still had her face buried in his chest. Her eyes were still shut, but he noticed they were not squeezed shut in fear anymore, but rather she looked as though she were sleeping.

“Hey,” he muttered, lifting his chin from her shoulder. “Everyone's joined in. It's okay if we sit down now.”

Kagome slowly cracked one eye open, still a little skittish at the thought of being alone on the dance floor, but was quite relieved to see that everyone was no longer staring at her, for they were all quite enjoying themselves with the music. Looking up at Inu-Yasha, she saw his usual scowl was set in place, although this time there seemed to be another emotion that he couldn't quite hide—disappointment. More than a little surprised, she made sure not to make a move to pull away from him. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and she wasn't about to mess it up.

“You know…” she said quietly, shifting her head so she could look out at the crowd. “It's not so bad with everyone on the dance floor. Nowhere near as scary.”

“Mm.” He grunted in agreement, glancing around with disinterest.

She noticed that he was making no move to get to the edge of the dance floor. Taking a deep breath, she decided to take the plunge. “If you wouldn't mind…” she began slowly, “and I'm sure you'll probably think I'm the silliest girl alive, but… I would like to dance just a little while longer. For show.”

He looked down at her, one eyebrow raised. “For show,” he repeated.

“Yes. I think it would look better if the main stair of the evening didn't bolt off the dance floor as soon as he could; that would be disrespectful to the mayor, don't you think?”

“Hmph. Like I care.” Despite his apathetic tone, she could see the disappointment was away from his expression in no time, and they continued to sway with the music.

Kagome, who still did not care to be in the middle of large crowds, much less be watched by large crowds, kept her cheek pressed against his chest and made no move to pull away; the protection he offered her was far too comforting. At the moment, she felt like he was her security blanket—she didn't dare go anywhere without it. She knew that she had been behaving rather irrationally minutes before, but had been strangely comforted by his low voice and protective touch. He had never been quite so free with his actions before, and, while she did not quite know what to make of it, she felt very relieved. He was finally cracking open his shell.

“Well, well, well, fancy meeting you here,” came a familiar voice, breaking into Kagome's thoughts and making her start in surprise. She felt Inu-Yasha tense underneath her, and she looked quickly around to find out who had spoken.

“Muso…” Inu-Yasha growled, fixing a wide, fake smile on his face, making certain to bare his fangs. Although he wanted to call the man a great deal more things than just his name, Sango and Miroku would have his hide for behaving so impolitely at the gala. So he settled on silent intimidation instead. “What do you want? I thought I already said everything I needed to say to you.” He nodded almost imperceptibly at the bright white cast peeking out from underneath Muso's jacket sleeve.

“Oh, I was just coming around to say `hello',” he replied, his face friendly even if his tone was lacking the warmth. “If I'm to be future mayor, it's important to attend yearly events such as these, and get a feel for them.”

“Hmph. Better stop counting your chickens before they've hatched,” Inu-Yasha snapped back, barely able to hold his temper. Kagome, who had yet to move, gave him a slight squeeze, which helped to hold him back. “That's a damn foolish thing to do.”

“Really?” Muso responded, sounding genuinely surprised. “Because I really don't think I have that much competition—not with your support.”

“Which you don't have…” Inu-Yasha ground out, his grip on Kagome's hand growing unbearably tight.

“Oh, nonsense!” Laughing, Muso waved the comment away like a fly. “This is a party. We aren't here to discuss business, we're here to have fun! So please, tell me, what is the name of your ravishing partner?”

“Kagome Higurashi,” she replied softly, after waiting a moment to realize that Inu-Yasha's jaw was clenched shut.

Inu-Yasha's grip on her grew hard as a rock as Muso gallantly took Kagome's hand to kiss it. “Candidate Muso at your service, Miss Higurashi.”

Clearing her throat and giving Inu-Yasha a sharp nudge in the ribs, she said carefully, “Do you have a partner tonight? I don't mean to be rude, but it is odd to see one on a dance floor rather than two.”

“Oh, indeed I do. She is, however, one of the photographers for tonight as well, so she has gone off to take pictures of the crowd. I believe she is… ah! Over there by that wolf demon.” He pointed off to the left.

Following his gaze, Inu-Yasha couldn't help but let loose a low growl; `that wolf demon' turned out to be Koga, who he never found to be a pleasant companion. But another quick look gave him the sight of what had to be Muso's partner.

The woman was rather short, a full head shorter than Kagome, and was staring expressionlessly at the wolf couple, holding her camera in front of her stomach as she took the photos, rather than in front of her face. While that action was indeed odd, what was most surprising was her appearance; it was clear from her white hair to her pallid skin, this girl was an albino.

“Lovely woman…” Muso mused, a playful smile teasing his lips as he stared out at her. “She certainly is a woman of few words, but I tell you, my Kanna is all you could ask for in a wife. Well! If you'll excuse me, I have a few more rounds to make. Lovely meeting you, Miss Higurashi.” With a short bow of goodbye, Muso disappeared into the crowd as quickly as he had approached.

They stared out after in him silence for a moment, but it was Kagome who moved first. With a sigh, for she could easily feel how tense and uneasy Inu-Yasha was, she slowly pulled away from him and led the way back to their table. “Come on…” she sighed, swiftly ducking other dancing couples. “Let's get out of here. There's too many people.”

Growing even more frustrated, not only by Muso's presence but also by the fact that his time of close comfort with her was over, Inu-Yasha fumed silently after her, slumping down in his seat once they reached the table. Even he was rather surprised by his sudden mood change, which had been almost happy just a few minutes ago, but was now growing bleaker by the second. He realized, with a slight moan, that now that he was finished with the dance, the worst part of the night was about to begin—the speeches.

It was not the fact that he had to sit patiently through all the speeches that was so bad; no it was the speeches themselves that were what sent him spiraling down into depression. All of the speeches were about the day Naraku was vanquished, his own heroic deeds, and the enormous debt of gratitude the city owed him. It was the same message, repeated to him in about six different forms during the course of the evening, and it was the absolute last thing he ever wanted to hear. He hated being reminded of his deeds that dark day, but never seemed to be able to block out the speaker's voice.

At the mere thought of what was to come, he could hardly bear it. After a quick glance around to make sure Sango and Miroku were lost in the sea of tuxedos and evening gowns on the dance floor, Inu-Yasha pulled his flask out of the inside pocket of his jacket and took a deep swig, followed rapidly by two more before Kagome gently laid her hand on his arm.

“Take it easy on that,” she said calmly in response to his infuriated glare. “I don't think you'd survive another incident like the last one. Sango and Miroku would make sure of it.”

Tugging his arm away, he snapped harshly, “Damn woman, it's none of your business. Besides, I'm not gonna get drunk off of one measly flask. You should know that by now.”

Rather surprised by how rapidly his temper had sparked, Kagome carefully withdrew her hand and settled for looking past the demon at the crowd of dancers, trying to conceal her smarting feelings. They had been doing so well out on the dance floor…

Inu-Yasha, already mentally cursing himself for being so harsh, kept quiet. Slowly, regretfully, he screwed the cap back on his flask and tucked it back in his pocket, finding it almost difficult to let go of the thing. Yes, he did quite clearly remember how wonderful it felt holding Kagome out on the dance floor, but that kind of pleasure did not flow as freely as whiskey did, and he doubted he had the courage to ask her to dance again, especially after his little outburst. So, with a deep sigh of disgust, he reached out and plucked his smoldering cigar from the ashtray to puff on until the dance was over, every now and again sneaking a look at Kagome, disheartened by her sad expression.

The music continued for a full hour, until at last the guests started to wander back to their seats by the mayor's request. Sango and Miroku were among the last to get seated, having clearly enjoyed themselves. Both, grinning broadly from ear to ear, joined their bleak companions at the table, a little confused. Inu-Yasha and Kagome's intimacy during the initial part of the dance had not gone unnoticed by them, and Miroku had even caught sight of them on the dance floor even after they had been joined by the rest of the crowd. So to see Kagome sitting with her head in her hand and Inu-Yasha slumped down in his chair, arms crossed and chewing viciously on the stump of his cigar was confusing.

“Hey…” Miroku whispered, leaning over to the surly demon. “What's going on? Did something happen? You two looked like you were having a great time out there—“

“Shut up right now.”

Knowing full well how foolish it would be to press a dangerous conversation with Inu-Yasha on Peace Day, Miroku held his hands up and backed off, shrugging helplessly at Sango.

With a slight frown, Sango then leaned closer to Kagome and asked her quietly, “What's going on between you two? You look upset.”

Blinking, for she had barely noticed they had joined her and Inu-Yasha at the table, Kagome gave Sango a sad smile. “No, it's all right. Inu-Yasha's just stressed right now, is all. Everything's all right.”

Glancing back at the half-demon, who looked like he was halfway between bursting into tears or punching someone in the face, Sango replied dryly, “Uh-huh…”

With a short laugh, for she understood how much of a lie her statement had been, Kagome smiled reassuringly at Sango. Then, as the lights dimmed once again and the mayor made his way to the podium in the middle of the stage, Kagome turned in her seat and caught Inu-Yasha's eye. Yes, what he had said hurt her feelings, but when one looked as pathetic as he did now, it was hard to hold that over his head. So, with absolute sincerity, she smiled kindly at him, sending him the message of, `It's okay, I'm not angry.'

Inu-Yasha held her gaze for a second before quickly turning away, sinking lower in his seat. Why did she have to go and do that? Now he had even more guilt burrowing its way into his chest, the emotion already having a very firm grip around his heart. Not only did he have to wrestle with Kikyo's death on his conscience today, but now he had a girl forgiving him for something he never apologized for, which only made him squirm with discomfort. Oh, god, what he would give for a bottle of whiskey right then and there… His hands were already starting to shake, and his mind was beginning to quail under the harsh reality thrown in his face without the buffer of a whiskey fog.

With grim determination, he slowly sat up and snubbed his cigar out in the ashtray, trying to act normal. He only needed to make it through the speeches and the medal distributions. Then, he could escape from this god-forsaken place and seek the comfort of his apartment, where one and a half bottles of whiskey were out on the kitchen table ready to be emptied. Taking a deep breath, he kept a stern expression on his face as he stared at the mayor, bracing himself for what was to come.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” the mayor began, and a hush immediately fell. “I would like to begin this portion of the gala a bit differently than usual. Rather than starting in with the speeches, we have a new addition to the program. Since this is, regrettably, my last year as mayor hosting this most prestigious of events, I wanted to leave you all with a firm reminder of what has happened to this dear city, and how far we have come since this day, eight years ago. I have been working diligently with a few members of my staff for the past year to put this together; so please, watch carefully, and remember the reason we have today to celebrate.” He then stepped away from the podium as the lights dimmed even further.

There was a loud whirring sound as an enormous projection screen was lowered in front of the red velvet curtain, then the screen suddenly lit up, and a video started to roll.

The first scene exploded onto the screen, making several people jump at the noise. The din was incredible—there were shouts, roars, thunder, gun shots—all the noise made in carnage. Chaos was everywhere, from the torrential wind that carried trash cans miles into the air to the fires that were flaming out of control in nearby buildings. Most buildings were obviously deserted, half of their walls missing and panes of glass sitting in empty windows. As the camera panned around, flashes of separate fights could be seen.

There was Koga, sending a mighty kick at a rather hairy demon; there were Miroku and Sango, taking on an enormous centipede with only a gun and a staff. Kaede could be seen on top of a pile of rubble, blood pouring out of one eye as she took aim at a harpy with an enormous crossbow. Policemen were everywhere, trying to fight the oncoming surge of demons and keep their own fear down at the same time, as was evident in their faces.

The more Kagome saw, the more the scene sickened her. It was horrible; there was so much death and destruction evident, and yet everybody was still fighting, still trying so hard to protect their city. She knew exactly what the footage was. She had seen clips of this before in her history class at school, although nothing had been quite so graphic as this. As she watched, she saw Koga ensnared by his opponent, and Miroku was sent flying by the centipede. Several officers were taken down by the surge of demons that she was forced to wonder how the cameraman had not perished as well.

But as the camera continued to move forward, she finally saw the source of all the carnage; there was the demon Naraku standing atop a mound of crushed automobiles, rubble, and bodies, crowing with laughter as he watched the attempts of the city to take him down.

However, something caught her eye, and as she squinted closely at the background, she noticed a smudge of dark black hair and a smudge of stark white hair, and realization smacked her in the head like a ton of bricks. She quickly turned around to check on Inu-Yasha, for she had been so caught up in the footage that she had not comprehended the effect such a thing might have on her patient.

Inu-Yasha was white as a ghost, sitting ramrod straight in his chair and staring at the screen with unblinking eyes. He had never been expecting such a thing, but as soon as the video had begun playing, he had been sucked back into a time he had never wished to visit again. He didn't notice when Kagome put a hand on his knee, trying to snap him out of it, but it didn't work.

What he did notice was the faint gunshot heard in the background, although in his ears it was as loud as a siren. As he stared while the white blur on the screen slumped to the ground, his hand automatically went to his chest where the bullet had penetrated it, and he let out a soft cry of pain. But what hurt even worse was the moment afterward. Merely a few seconds after the white blur had gone down, it was back up, high in the air, coming down straight at the black-haired person, who had become a bit clearer as she walked closer to Naraku. However, she was knocked down in a spray of red, and Inu-Yasha made a small choking sound in the back of his throat at the sight. Kagome saw his hands clench into fists.

For a few minutes after Inu-Yasha and Kikyo were both on the ground, the scene before them was similar to the beginning of the clip, with chaos and bloodshed reigning. But out of nowhere came a bloodcurdling roar, and Inu-Yasha came flying from the top of the screen, so fast that he had been completely unnoticed by the cocky Naraku—it had been a fatal mistake. The flash of light that ensued effectively covered up Inu-Yasha's rather gory attack of driving his claws straight through the demon's heart, and then a deafening explosion echoed throughout the room, and the video cut to static.

In the silence that followed once the sounds of the explosion died out, only Kagome heard Inu-Yasha whisper, in a voice so soft and small, “…Kikyo…”

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