InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Guilty Hero ❯ And So It Begins... ( Chapter 29 )

I must always begin with a display of gratitude for my reviewers you all are a very excellent group of people. I apologize for not replying to many of your reviews, but they are often read as I am walking out the door to go to work, so a reply in not possible at the time; but rest assured, they are all read, and very much appreciated. ^__^

In this chapter: Some imminent news sets Kagome's work back.

Guilty Hero

Chapter 28: And So It Begins…

“Right now? All right, let me see if I can get him up, and we'll be over there as soon as possible.” Placing the phone back in its cradle, Kagome shrugged out of her coat and hat before going down the hallway to the bedroom; she had just set foot inside Inu-Yasha's apartment when the phone started to ring, and didn't even have the chance to remove her outerwear before picking up. Once out of her coat, she rubbed her hands together, chilled by the air in the apartment, then knocked softly on the door to his bedroom.

“Inu-Yasha? Are you awake?” She waited a moment, but heard nothing coming from the room, so she carefully pushed open the door and walked in.

She felt a smile tugging at her lips when she saw the lump on the bed, covered entirely by the new comforter so that only his ears were poking out. He had sunk deep into the pillows, clearly pleased with how thick and fluffy they were compared to his old ones, and there was absolutely no sign that he had heard her at all. So, in order to wake him from what was certainly a most pleasant slumber, Kagome carefully crawled onto the bed next to him and gave the lump a gentle nudge.

“Inu-Yasha… It's morning…” she said playfully, poking the mound of blankets until at last they moved. It took a couple moments, but finally Inu-Yasha's head emerged and he peered around sleepily in search of the person who disturbed him. Upon seeing that it was Kagome, he grunted in a way that almost sounded like “Good morning,” and then pulled the blankets back up and nuzzled into the pillows once again.

Kagome's smile grew as she carefully pulled the comforter away, much to his displeasure. “I see you're enjoying your new stuff, huh?” she asked. “Aren't you glad you ended up getting it?”

Letting out a soft growl, for he knew that he was going to get no more sleep this morning, Inu-Yasha slowly rolled over so he could peer at her properly. “Hmph. You're just a damned pushy woman, is all.”

“And it's because of my cunning that you took the set home with you. So how about it? Did you sleep well?”

Inu-Yasha paused for a moment to make an assessment; truth be told, he has slept so deeply that he had not even dreamed, and to achieve such a feat without being drunk as a lord was almost an impossibility in his life. So, looking back up at her with a rather surprised expression, he said slowly, “I slept… great.”

Kagome seemed to be quite pleased by his statement. “I'm so glad. Now, how are you feeling? Do you need me to make you my world-famous hangover cure?”

He raised an eyebrow at her. “You mean water mixed with baking soda?”

Shrugging, she replied, “Just because it's world-famous doesn't mean it has to be complex. But, do you need me to make any?”

A yawn interrupting his answer, he finally said, “No, I only had one drink before I went to bed. It was so late when we got back, anyway…”

Despite how nonchalant the question posed to him had been, Kagome had actually been quite anxious to hear his answer. She had been concerned that he might have been so distraught after buying so many things for himself the night before that he had gone home and crawled into a whiskey bottle to ease the guilt. She didn't dare to hope that was not the case, even after she noticed how easy it was for him to awaken that morning, but his reply chased away all her fears, and she couldn't help but be overjoyed. He had just taken a major step in his healing process.

Inu-Yasha, completely unaware of her feelings at the moment, broke into her thoughts when he complained, “What are you getting me up so early for, anyway? It's not even eight o' clock yet; I was sound asleep!”

Shaking her head, for he could be awfully childish at times, Kagome replied, “I got a call from Sango when I got here. She wants us to stop by headquarters as soon as possible.”

“Hmph.” Rolling back onto his side and pulling the covers up once again, he mumbled back, “In that case, tell her I got real trashed last night and am still sleeping it off; that'll buy me a few more hours' sleep…”

With a frown, Kagome silently climbed off the bed and walked around to the foot of it. Then, gripping the end of the comforter, she gave it a sharp yank and pulled it to the floor, making Inu-Yasha yelp as the frigid cold of the apartment nipped at any exposed skin.

“Now Inu-Yasha…” she said sweetly as he sat up to glare at her, shivering in his t-shirt and boxers. “Let's not use your bad habit as an excuse, shall we? If you're not out of bed, showered, dressed, and waiting by the front door in half an hour, I'm going to return your new comforter set, got it?”

Meeting her steely gaze with one of his own, Inu-Yasha finally rolled his eyes and slid off the bed, shuffling past her into the bathroom. “Damn pushy woman…” he muttered again, and she smiled serenely at him in return.

oOoOoOoOoOo

“Good morning, Rin!” Kagome said brightly as they strode into the Order's headquarters.

“Good morning Miss Higurashi, Inu-Yasha,” Rin replied, looking up from her computer to greet them. “Sango and Miroku are—oh. You look very nice today, Inu-Yasha.”

“U-um… Okay.” Inu-Yasha glanced down at his outfit, then back up to Kagome with a look of confusion.

“Anyway,” Rin continued, not noticing Inu-Yasha's reaction, “You can go on up; Sango and Miroku are waiting for you.”

“Thank you.” Kagome led the way over to the elevator and stepped inside, holding it open for Inu-Yasha, who was still staring at his clothes in puzzlement.

“What… what the hell did she mean by that?” he grumbled once the doors slid shut and the elevator shuddered into motion. “I ain't wearing anything special…”

“You're wearing new clothes, Inu-Yasha. People will notice.” Kagome smiled at his behavior; he clearly didn't know how to react to such a compliment. And, personally, she had to agree with Rin. After so many weeks of seeing nothing but stained t-shirts and ripped sweatpants, he did look so much nicer in dark jeans and a brand new shirt. “I certainly have noticed.”

“Hmph.” He scowled at her. “Well, you're the one who picked the damn things out, of course you noticed!”

Kagome rolled her eyes and looked away with a sigh. “Men…”

“Hey, what do you mean by that?”

The elevator deposited them, still bickering, on the top floor, and together they walked over to the door to Sango and Miroku's office.

“Are you implying that, since I'm a guy, I don't understand the importance you women place on clothes? Because if that's what you mean, then you're exactly right; you women always take so damn long to get ready for things, and it wastes so much time! Why can't you just be ready in a few minutes? What could possibly take so long?”

“Hey, wasn't it you who was still getting ready for the gala by the time I arrived at your apartment, and I ended up having to help you finish up?”

“Well, I didn't get started as early as you! You said you had started getting ready that afternoon—what's up with that?! How can it actually take hours to get ready for something? Did you have to sew the clothes together yourself?”

“Hey, the point is, you were still not ready by the time I got there, so isn't that still a waste of time? At least I was efficient and got started early enough that I would be prepared for—“

“Enough.” Sango's harsh voice cut through their conversation, effectively silencing Kagome mid-sentence. “You two are arguing loud enough to wake the dead.”

Inu-Yasha grunted apathetically and looked away while a light blush stained Kagome's cheeks. “Sorry. We didn't mean to disturb you…”

“Never mind, never mind.” Sango waved a hand, clearly not in the mood. “Inu-Yasha, we need to see you inside. Kagome, if you wouldn't mind to wait elsewhere for him…?”

“Oh! Um, of course.” A little surprised, for she had been under the impression that they had wanted both her and Inu-Yasha for the meeting, Kagome nodded and took a step back. “I guess I'll… go downstairs and chat with Rin for a while. Come and find me when you're finished, all right, Inu-Yasha?”

“Hmph. Fine.”

Once Kagome was hidden behind the elevator doors, Sango turned and led Inu-Yasha into their office. Right away, he could feel how stressed and tense the air was, and the good mood that he had gradually acquired over the course of his morning with Kagome seeped out of him, much to his dismay. He could already tell that whatever Sango and Miroku wanted him for was not going to be good.

Easing onto the couch that faced their desks, he sat on the very edge, very uncomfortable as he saw the expression on Miroku's face. This concerned him—Miroku had always been the more optimistic of the two, and to see him so stern meant nothing good was about to happen.

“What is going on?” he finally growled, fixing them both with a fierce glare.

Miroku sighed, setting down his pen and rubbing his face tiredly; judging from the looks of him, he had pulled another overnight shift or two. “Well, Inu-Yasha, we have received some bad news. After a lot of investigation and a bit of interrogation we have finally found solid proof.”

“Solid proof for what?”

Sango glanced over at Miroku before resting her tired brown eyes on Inu-Yasha. “War.”

Inu-Yasha slowly reclined on the sofa, surprised at how taken aback he was by the news. They had been expecting it for some time, and many events, such as the massive demon outbreak two days prior, were signs that such a thing was inevitable. But to actually hear confirmation of it caught him off-guard.

“…War?” he repeated softly. “Another one?”

“Yes…” Miroku said, resting his head in his hand. “Interrogation of an ogre confirmed it. He said that all of the minor demons were offered part of a `big power'—his words—if they were to join this wind-witch that started the entire thing. However, the wind-witch is not the monstrous demon gaining power below the city; she is merely the messenger for it, or so things appear to be.”

He waited a moment for Inu-Yasha to say something, but the half-demon seemed to be past speech at the moment. Sango decided to take over.

“A monster gaining strength, beginning to build forces against us… No doubt this creature, once all the demons in the city are under its control, will attempt to persuade our own members to switch sides. All of us are vulnerable. Do you understand how we've come to this conclusion, Inu-Yasha?”

Staring blankly at the floor, he remained silent for a moment, his claws tearing into the fabric of the sofa cushions as he gripped them. “It's… just like before…” he finally murmured. “Just like with…” His voice became so soft that he was hardly able to choke the name out. “…Naraku…”

“But!” Sango said suddenly in a sharp voice, making him start in surprise. “We know that it's not Naraku, thanks to you. He is dead, and of that we are certain. So there is no need to worry about him. At all.” Her emphasis on the last two words caused Inu-Yasha to blink, breaking out of his daze, and flick his gaze over to her, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.

“I know that…” he growled, anger slowly beginning to seep into his voice. “Why do you feel the need to point that out? Did you think I had forgotten?”

“Hmph. Not hardly.” Sango sat back in her chair and folded her arms across her chest, trying to appear nonchalant despite the obvious stress she was under. “We just wanted to make it very clear to you that this new threat is not Naraku.”

His gaze turned into a steady glare. “Meaning what...?”

Miroku anxiously cleared his throat, casting Sango a glance that told her he was going to step in. “Meaning that the same thing that happened with Naraku is not going to happen with this new demon. So you don't have to worry about… well, you know.”

“What?” Inu-Yasha sneered sarcastically, climbing to his feet so he could tower over his two seated superiors. “So I don't have to worry about having to kill one of you for switching sides? Or perhaps Kagome for going over? Is that what you're telling me?”

“Well…yes…” Miroku seemed to turn pale as Inu-Yasha strode slowly over to stand in front of his desk, staring fiercely down at him with his molten amber eyes.

Leaning over and shoving his face right into Miroku's, Inu-Yasha asked in a voice that was dangerously soft, “And just why would you feel the need to remind me of this?”

“S-so… So you would not feel any qualms to assist us in our fight to protect the city,” Miroku shakily replied, clearly trying to keep himself together.

Inu-Yasha snapped at the comment. Jerking his head around to Sango with a snarl of fury at his lips, he was at her desk in a moment, his claws gouging eight deep holes in her desk and the papers adorning it. She had long ago stood up to prevent him the opportunity of towering over her, but even without that power he was terrifying enough, and she found it difficult to keep her knees from knocking together.

“You…” he rumbled, seething with anger. “I thought I made my position in this whole damn thing perfectly clear. I don't care what you say to me, I don't care what you do to me, I don't care what you pay me—I am not going to fight in this war.”

“I understand that this must be difficult news for you to hear, Inu-Yasha,” she replied, her voice high from fear. “But I think you would be doing this city a disservice, not protecting it.”

“Like I give a damn,” he barked back, sending the papers on her desk flying with one sweep of his arm. “This god-forsaken city has had eight years since the last attack to figure out how to defend itself properly, and depending on me sure as hell ain't the right answer. Find some other fool to be your go-to guy, because I am not doing it again.”

“Inu-Yasha, you need to think this through…” Miroku added shakily, getting up and going over to lend Sango some support. “Do you know how many people are going to look to you once word of this gets out? We cannot let this city's morale become so low if they see their savior backing down from this fight. Should that happen, then this superdemon would easily be able to take control of the city, and we wouldn't stand a chance. Do you want to have that on your conscience, Inu-Yasha?”

Inu-Yasha gaped at him in a furious disbelief, his body as tense and stiff as stone. “…How dare you…” he whispered, his chest so constricted with rage that he could hardly speak. “You're blaming the entire downfall of the city on me? Where the hell do you get off?! Who was it who obliterated Naraku? Who was it who had to kill his own fiancé to do that? Who was it who gave up his whole goddamned life so that you and your precious city could survive?! ME, that's who! How much more are you planning to take away from me with this next battle, huh?! What else do I have that you could possibly take?! Nothing!!”

His voice had escalated to the point that Sango and Miroku were flinching with every sentence he spat out, so when he suddenly stopped speaking, the silence seemed to ring in their ears, broken only by Inu-Yasha's panting breaths.

“Let me make one thing perfectly clear…” he whispered, his tone deadly quiet. “I will have nothing to do with this war. Do not ask me to fight a demon, do not ask me to take an assignment for it. I cannot, and will not do this. Now go find some other sap to pin your hopes and dreams to, you bastards.” With that, he abruptly stormed out of their office, slamming the door shut so hard that the glass window in it shattered from the force.

Kagome, who had been having quite the pleasant conversation with the very chatty Rin down at the receptionist's desk, was taken quite by surprise when the enraged half-demon suddenly bounded down the stairs and flew past her, knocking her purse off her shoulder and blowing her hair into her face as he passed.

“I—what—Inu-Yasha?” she called weakly after him, but he was already gone, out the door and making a leap onto the rooftop of a building across the street. Looking back at the receptionist, she asked, “Do you know what that meeting was about?”

Rin, who was just as surprised as she by the demon's sudden appearance, shook her head, looking out the doorway where he had left.

Frowning, for there had been an unmistakable sense of urgency in Inu-Yasha's rush, Kagome tugged her keys out of her purse and followed him out the door, calling out a farewell to Rin as she went. Climbing into her car, she pulled out into traffic with due haste, and, praying that it was his destination, drove back to his apartment as rapidly as traffic would allow.

Upon her arrival, she slammed the car door shut and dashed into the apartment, taking the stairs to the top two at a time until her own physical limitations forced her to slow down. She prayed, for not the first time, that the landlord might get some sense to fix the elevator, but doggedly went on, until at last she arrived on the seventh floor, gasping for breath. However, her concern for her patient overcame her fatigue and she shoved open the door and was relieved to see the light on in the kitchen—her guess at his destination had been accurate.

Wiping her sweaty bangs from her eyes, she quickly went into the kitchen and found Inu-Yasha standing by his open liquor cabinet, draining a rather full tumbler of whiskey. She remained silent, watching with worry as he took swallow after swallow until the glass was empty, then he set it down on the counter and shuddered, letting out a low moan.

“I-Inu-Yasha?” she asked hesitantly, slowly approaching him and gently placing a hand on his back. “What happened? What's wrong?”

Panting heavily from both the drink and his outburst, he kept quiet for a moment, focusing on the empty glass in front of him. Then, he finally mumbled, “It seems… this city is going to hell in a hand basket… And it's all my fault.” He moved to pour another drink, the neck of the whiskey bottle clanking against the rim of the glass as his hand shook.

Kagome, utterly confused, moved to put her hand over his, hoping to calm him down with her touch. “Inu-Yasha, I don't understand, what are you talking about?”

“Get off me, dammit!” he suddenly snarled, wrenching his hand away from hers and spilling whiskey everywhere. “Just… just… just leave me be! Stop bothering me! I just want to be alone right now!”

Kagome immediately flinched away, for she was well aware of how violent he could become. However, her fear did not escape his notice, and he hung his head, looking away. “Please…” he added in a much softer tone, sounding more desperate than angry. Relieved to see that he was, at the very least, making an attempt to control his anger, Kagome nodded and backed away, watching forlornly as he collected his bottle and glass and went into the living room, making his place on the couch.

Watching him from the kitchen for a moment with an expression of utter sadness, she finally sighed and moved away, going to sit at the kitchen table so she could think. Just what had happened that got Inu-Yasha so shaken up? For the life of her, she couldn't fathom what it was; she had been spending so much time with Inu-Yasha lately that she was completely out of the loop with the goings-on at the Order.

“Hmph.” Straightening, she quickly pulled her purse over and unzipped it, digging around a moment before successfully removing her cell phone. If Inu-Yasha wouldn't tell her what had happened, then perhaps Sango and Miroku would be willing. Flipping the phone open, she quickly dialed in the familiar number and put it to her ear, waiting impatiently through several rings. Finally, after almost two full minutes of the annoying buzz, she snapped her phone shut in frustration. She couldn't help but wonder—were they not answering their phone because they were busy, or because they were afraid of her phone call? They were not stupid—surely they knew that she would probably send a call their way to find out the source of Inu-Yasha's displeasure. So why weren't they answering?

Kagome sighed dejectedly as the sound of the bottle clinking against his tumbler drifted to her ears, and she knew she was in for a long day. If he was already getting hammered at nine o' clock in the morning, the day was surely going to go downhill from here, and there was little she could do to stop it. She would try talking to him later, once he had calmed down a bit, but for now, there was nothing to do but stay close by in the kitchen so she could keep a watchful eye on him.

oOoOoOoOoOo

By seven o' clock that evening, Kagome had just about had enough. The day had been terrible. Confined to either the kitchen or the bedroom, for Inu-Yasha would not tolerate her presence in the living room with him, restless, pent-up energy had been rising in her all day as she had to find meaningless tasks to do to pass the time. The whole while she was dusting his bedroom or reorganizing the kitchen cabinets, her worry continued to grow exponentially over the distraught half-demon as he steadily drank himself into a stupor over the course of the day.

There had been once incident around noon when, while she had been sitting at the kitchen table working on a crossword puzzle book she had uncovered in his dresser, he stumbled into the kitchen to retrieve a fresh bottle of whiskey. Once he had acquired the bottle and had turned around to go back into the living, Kagome had decided to take the chance and speak up.

“Inu-Yasha…” she had said, quickly setting aside the puzzle and focusing all her attention on him. “Please, won't you tell me what's wrong? What happened over there?”

He had then turned his glassy-eyed gaze on her, looking a little miffed to be spoken to. However, after appearing to consider her for a moment, he then said, rather loudly, “I gave up a lot. An' now they want me t' give up more. But I ain' doin' it. They can try as hard as they want, but I won' give in. Damn bassurds…” And then he had shuffled out of the kitchen, leaving her more confused than when he had first entered.

Over the course of the day, she had kept a sharp eye on him, watching a strange play of emotions come over him; for a long while he had sat and glared furiously at the television, breaking his concentration with short, quick gulps of whiskey. But as time went on that anger seemed to melt into distress, and his drinking grew more desperate. It was then Kagome had tried to join him on the couch, hoping to comfort him, but he had snapped and snarled so horribly at her that she quickly abandoned that hope and retreated back into the kitchen. Around five o' clock when she poked her head in, she realized that he was on the verge of tears, and an expression of intense sorrow was on his face. “Not again…” she had heard him slur, holding his head in his hands. And then, finally, around seven o' clock, with his new whiskey bottle only a quarter-full and Kagome consumed with worry, he had slumped over, unconscious, on the couch, spilling his tumbler and allowing the carpet to soak up his last glass of whiskey.

Sighing in sorrow, Kagome carefully tugged his limp form so he was stretched out fully on the couch, then went to the bedroom to retrieve one of his new pillows that she knew he liked so well. Tucking that under his head, she then pulled off a new flannel blanket from the back of the couch that had replaced his tattered, threadbare one and laid it over him. Kneeling down next to him, she carefully smoothed his bangs away from his furrowed brow, wishing she knew what it was that had him so upset. She always hated to see him this way.

“Hmm…” Suddenly realizing something, she paused once to adjust his blanket before returning to the kitchen and snatching up her cell phone. It had been several hours since her last phone call attempt; surely Sango and Miroku would free by now. Punching in the familiar number, she was pleased to hear only two rings before an exhausted-sounding Miroku answered.

“This is Miroku…” came his haggard voice.

“Miroku, this is Kagome,” she replied abruptly, her tone rather clipped as she tried to hold back her displeasure with them. “I want to know what exactly went on during your meeting with Inu-Yasha this morning. When he returned home he set about to drinking and never stopped until he passed out just a few minutes ago. Now, since he had been doing surprisingly well controlling such behavior up until now, something must have happened during your meeting to shake him so badly. What happened?”

Miroku, who was apparently a little startled by the authoritative tone she had acquired, paused a moment before answering. “I'm sorry, Kagome. I don't think Sango and I realized the effect our words would have on him.”

“That's fine, but what words did you say to him?”

She heard a long sigh from the other end. “…I assume then, that he hasn't told you about the start of the second war?”

Kagome, who had been sitting ramrod straight in her chair, slowly sat back, taken aback by the comment. “It's true, then? We are definitely in another war?”

“Yes,” came him level reply. “Sango and I know that the city is ill-prepared for such a thing, and so we tried to convince Inu-Yasha to lend his talents to the fight and… Well, let's just say he didn't handle things so well.”

Kagome frowned. “What exactly did you say to him?”

Another pause. “I'd rather not speak of it.”

Tapping her fingers irritably on the tabletop, for her patience and good humor had worn thin after worrying all day. “All right then, I guess I'll say my piece: I don't know how you phrased your proposal to Inu-Yasha, but it has affected him very badly. This has completely affected his healing process; we had just made a breakthrough the night before. He was starting to feel happy for a little while. He was slowly beginning to move forward in his life. But now this little stunt you two pulled has now become a major setback. The first war has scarred Inu-Yasha very deeply, a fact you know even better than I, so wouldn't you assume that this second war will do the same to him?! I am only going to say this once—keep Inu-Yasha out of this. He's never going to be healed if you keep pulling stuff like this on him. Now, good night.” And she hung up the phone.

Back at the Order's headquarters, Miroku slowly set the phone back in its cradle and rested his head in his hand. That phone call had just been another thing to add to the list of all the horrible occurrences during the day. It felt like no matter what he and Sango did, things seemed to be slipping out of their control at every turn. The mayor was constantly on them about the growing demon attacks, Kaede was alternating between yelling at them and helping them get the city prepared, the police chief seemed reluctant to send any of his men over for demon-slaying training, and now having Kagome call and yell at him seemed to be the icing on the cake.

“Who was that?” Sango asked distractedly, not taking her eyes off their dusty television screen where the mayoral elections were taking place. Any moment now they would announce the winner, and they both had the sinking feeling that the result would top off their very dreadful day.

“Kagome. Yelling at us for this morning. Apparently Inu-Yasha's been drinking all day.”

“Huh. Well, that's to be expected; it's what he always does.” Sango shook her head in disgust.

With a frown, Miroku dragged his tired eyes up to stare reproachfully at her. “Now Sango. If we keep saying things like that, Inu-Yasha's never going to get any better.”

However, before he even finished his sentence, Sango quickly waved a hand to silence him and leaned forward, her eyes glued on the screen.

“Breaking news: the votes are in, and the new mayor for the city its… Candidate Muso, winning with a shocking 1,013 point lead! Well, it just goes to show that support from the right people can—“ Sango cut off the announcer as she turned the television off, her hand dropping limply back into her lap.

With a low groan, Miroku leaned back in his chair and shut his eyes. “And so it begins…”

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