InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Head Over Heels ❯ Blood Brother Betrayal ( Chapter 20 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Chapter Twenty

Blood Brother Betrayal

Kagura:

My original plan was to find my clothes, grab my toothbrush, then get the hell out of Sesshomaru's house. But it was well past noon before I trusted my knees enough to stand and my stomach to hold food. I gathered my clothes and accouterments into a pile on his bed and then stood there looking at them trying not to fall into a pit of self pity.

Sesshomaru fully expected me to be here when he returned. Hell he probably wanted to `talk' some more.

Oh well, it's a damned pity but in the adult world we rarely get what we want. At least I never do. I forced myself to swallow this sour forecast of my immediate future but I didn't have to cut myself off from him just yet. The migraine had left me with a wicked hunger and I knew he'd given his staff with explicit instructions to feed me and watch over me. And if someone wanted to wait on me, who was I to stop them?

I found a long white linen robe with a red honeycomb pattern on the sleeves and hem. I held it to my nose and smelled the light spicy citrus scent that was Sesshomaru's soap. Perfect.

The plan was to stuff myself and pretend all was right with my world before crawling off in utter defeat. Once he discovered me missing I'd have to batten my hatches down, for it would be as good as declaring war. Unless I had a good reason for leaving, such as I was fine and had to get to the bookstore. That would suffice but all I was really doing was pushing away the hour of our ultimate confrontation.

Awww hell, this was too much thinking for a girl with an empty stomach and a miserable heart.

I went to Sesshomaru's closet in search of a long t-shirt but all I found were thousand dollar knit sweaters, dress shirts and suits. I saw the shirt I'd scammed him into buying hanging in the front; crisp, clean and straight from the drycleaners. The little pink slip of paper stapled to the tag in the collar was the dead giveaway.

My God this man is truly an enigma. Who sends their t-shirts to the cleaners for Pete sakes? Oh well, when in Rome right?

I pulled the t-shirt over my head and was pleased that it hung almost to my knees. The dry cleaning left it with an odd texture but that wasn't enough to prevent me from reveling in the age old tradition of “borrowing' a boyfriend's t-shirt.

I pulled on my socks which were of course neatly folded on his dresser bureau. Had we been able to make this relationship work, his obsessive compulsive shit would've driven me batty.

I opened the door and the hall was seemingly deserted. I padded down to the kitchen and it too was empty. Well damn, this wouldn't do. How was I supposed to entertain my fantasy of royalty if there was no one around to encourage it?

Oh well, it wasn't as though I was helpless. I've made coffee before and scrambled an egg or two in my time.

I pulled open the giant Subzero brushed steel fridge and began pulling out the necessities; eggs, milk, bacon and butter.

Everything in the kitchen was of restaurant quality, so the frying pan I pulled out was light weight but bigger than my head. Still I dropped a sinful amount of butter in it and turned up the burner.

The coffee pot must've been designed by NASA but I figured it out by pressing all of it's buttons and soon had some Starbucks brewing. Then I cracked three eggs into the pan and heard them sizzling in the butter. Ah, artery cloggy, fatty perfection, Paula Dean eat your heart out.

I stood in the center of the kitchen full of pride at my mastery of the culinary world when a tall, rail thin girl in a criminally short green skirt floated through the doorway. Her dark eyes widened at the sight of me half naked wrapped in a stolen robe but still, she smiled at me. “Hello, who are you?”

Damn, in addition to fashion magazine perfect long black hair and smooth skin she was perky too, I already didn't like her. “I'm the horrible kitchen phantom; maybe you should run off and call Scooby Doo and Mystery Inc.”

She laughed and went to the stove to examine my work. “Well doesn't Sesshomaru have servants who do all this?”

I shrugged and watched her pert nose wrinkle at the sight of my bacon strips. “I guess so.”

She narrowed an eye at me. “You aren't his new nanny are you?”

As if a nanny in this house would ever be expected to cook. I found a spatula and flipped the eggs, “I don't think so. But after dropping all that acid sometimes it's hard to remember things.”

Ms. Japanese Barbie doll nearly fell over at my outrageous declaration, so she was either guilty of hopeless naivety or was just deeply stupid. Now that I'd smelled her weakness there would be no stopping me now.

I turned back to the eggs and she sat down in a chair at the breakfast table watching me cook; her dark eyes boring holes in my back. I poured a cup of coffee and saw she hadn't taken the hint and left. “Would you like some coffee too?”

She shook her head. “Nah, I'm a tea drinker. Coffee's so… bitter.”

I put my palms on the table as I leaned towards her. “Do you always do everything you're told?”

She frowned, “What are you talking about?”

I watched her face and guessed, “You don't drink coffee and I'm guessing you don't eat bacon either.”

She admitted, “Not very often… it's just not good for you.” So she was a food fascist, that explained her flawless complexion and her holier than thou attitude towards my innocent breakfast.

I went back and flipped my bacon, “Exactly, you're only doing what you were told.”

She shrugged her thin shoulders under her white sweater, “Well yeah but if it's not healthy so…”

I dropped two slices of bread into the toaster, “So maybe it is, maybe it isn't. But you can't float through life letting everyone else do your thinking for you.”

She flipped her insanely long hair and protested, “It's just coffee and bacon though…”

I turned before she could see the slow wicked grin that crossed my lips, “Yeah today it's coffee and bacon but what'll it be tomorrow?”

I heard the doubt creep into her voice, “Yeah I guess...”

I started counting silently and was at ten when she asked, “I changed my mind, I do want coffee.”

Score one for me. I swallowed my smile and shot over my shoulder, “Great, but what do I look like, the maid? Go pour it yourself.”

She pushed her chair away from the table and approached the giant coffee pot while I added a few extra strips of bacon to the pan.

_-_-_-_

Ten minutes later we were both setting at the breakfast table over a platter of fried eggs, bacon and coffee. It turned out that Barbie girl here was ridiculously self deprived and so far she'd eaten twice as much as me and it'd been over eighteen hours since my last meal.

I'd told her nothing about me but managed to learn loads about her. Kagome was barely twenty and fresh out of California, hence the wacky eating habits.

I was into my second cup of coffee when Inuyasha strolled in to the kitchen as though he owned the place; which on some level I guess he did. He stopped when he saw me and stuck his hands in the pockets of his baggy jeans. “Hey, what are you doing here?”

I pulled the belt of Sesshomaru's robe tighter around me. “Well, if you must know, I break into a different house every day at precisely one pm and cook breakfast. Want some coffee?”

He cocked a quizzical black brow, then opened the pantry and pulled out a plastic ramen noodle bowl. He held it under a faucet protruding from the side of the steel coffee peculator, filling it with hot water. On his way to the table he frowned at the sight of Kagome's plate. “If ya get fat, you ain't riding on my back.”

Her eyes bugged in her head in outrage. Inuyasha yanked out a chair and draped himself across it then attacked his noodle bowl with chopsticks he'd procured from his pocket.

I was wondering just how many kinds of kinkiness these two were into when Kagome shot back, “Maybe I'm sick of riding on your back. I'm getting a motorcycle.”

He talked around a mouthful of noodles, “You're a horrible driver, you'd get killed in less than twenty four hours.”

She dropped her fork onto the table, “Well it's not like you couldn't teach me how to drive yours.”

Inuyasha went back to slurping his noodles, “No one drives the Harley but me.”

Hell, these two were better than cable. Kagome chomped on a piece of bacon as I tucked my feet up under me and took a long drink of life giving coffee.

Inuyasha suddenly decided to acknowledge my existence; he glanced at me over his plastic noodle bowl and said nonchalantly, “So… how long have you been fucking my asshole half brother?”

Kagome picked up the salt shaker and tossed it at his head. “What's wrong with you?”

He ducked the flying porcelain shaker, his ears falling flat against his silver head, “Damnit wench! What's with you today? You're gonna be the death of me.”

I shook my head trying to decide if I was pissed or amused. Amusement won out because the pepper shaker that followed struck him hard across the shoulder.

Inuyasha rubbed his shoulder with one clawed hand and shot Kagome a seething look from across the table. She mouthed some word at him that started with an S sound. Inuyasha grumbled under his breath in a string of four letter expletives.

“So,” I ventured, “How long have you two been a couple?” Anyone who fought like this had to be damn near married.

Kagome bit her lip blushing profusely, “We're not…”

Oh really?

That's not the impression I got yesterday. Ever the pot stirrer I turned to Inuyasha who was turning four different shades of purple rage. “So yesterday, why'd you tell me she was your girl?”

Kagome stood up, “You two know each other?”

Inuyasha tossed his empty noodle bowl down on the table, “She works at that bookstore…”

Her hand found her hip, “Did you really say that I'm your girl?”

Inuyasha paled and began a back peddling the likes that no academy award winner could have pulled off. “Well you are my… responsibility.”

Kagome crossed her arms over her chest and fell back down on the chair. I asked bluntly, “So what's your deal? What are you guys?”

She took a drink of coffee and explained in a rehearsed tone, “We're a team. I have a family obligation and Inuyasha is my… protector.”

Okay this was only getting wackier. “Oh so he's your body guard?” Who the hell was Kagome, Paris freaking Hilton?

Her thin fingers touched a gold chain that hung around her neck and I noticed there was a small ball shape lump under her sweater. What was on that necklace? Kagome frowned and muttered, “Something like that.”

Inuyasha snorted, “Keh, I'm NOT her hired help; she assists me…, when I let her.”

Kagome frowned at this and Inuyasha's ears dropped slightly. My lips turned up in a small grin, “Oh really? And what exactly does she do for you, wash behind your ears?”

He rolled his liquid gilt eyes choosing not to dignify me with an answer, so I asked, “Where'd you go last night?”

“Kagome paged me.” He shook his silver head, “Called me back to the hotel for an emergency. I ran the whole way back there for nothing.”

I leaned forward, “Yeah? What happened?” Perhaps Kagome needed help scrubbing her back after her trip to the spa.

He spat, “Spider in the bathtub.”

Kagome jumped into the conversation holding her thumb and forefinger apart, showing how big the spider was, “But it was gigantic, it could've been an evil yokai spider! Did you want me to wait for it to grow ten feet and then call you after it had the …?”

Demon spiders huh, I guess New York City's fine hotel standards are in serious decline. I pushed some egg around the plate with my fork, “So now I know you're a champion spider squasher, what else do you do?”

Inuyasha shot me a fast golden glare. “'This ain't a game of who the hell are we, you're the one sitting here half naked wrapped in that jackass's robe.”

I rolled my eyes, “How do you know it's Sesshomaru's robe?”

He smirked, “It's too long for you and it reeks of him.”

Ah yes, Inu-yokai and their infernal sense of smell. Damn it. I gave up. “Yeah it's his robe and we are dating but it's not what it looks like. I got ill after you left and he dragged me here.” And why did I care what these two thought of me or my morals?

Inuyasha surprised me by throwing his head back in laughter, “I can't believe Sesshomaru has a girlfriend.”

Kagome's tone was icy with sarcasm. “Yeah it's crazy to think that these days people would actually do such a thing.”

He ground his teeth and Kagome took over the conversation, “So… how did you meet?”

I decided no harm could come of a little girl talk, “The bookstore.” I'd meant to say more but found the words stuck in my throat.

Inuyasha chuckled, “First that human kid and now he's off picking up shop girls. The jerk's losing his mind.”

Kagome added, “Maybe he's loosening up? I mean he can't be all bad can he?”

The hanyou's ears perked up and he turned towards Kagome, “Where have you been all these years? He has telephone pole lodged so far up his ass, he'd need surgery to take a …”

Kagome cut him off, “Inuyasha!”

He put his hands on his knees and studied the table cloth, “I was just saying! Anyways it's true.”

I tried to smile but my lips refused to obey me. “Yeah he's a jerk of major proportions.” And turning him away was going to be the hardest thing I've ever had to do.

_-_-_-_

Sesshomaru:

Totosai stood in his doorway his pig eyes bulging in abject fear. The last time I had the pleasure of his presence was a few months before father's death. While I've never been fond of the scaly old man, it was because of his actions after Father's passing that I detested him.

Father's will left two swords in Totosai's care to distribute to Inuyasha and I as he saw fit. Inuyasha was a stinking infant so Totosai hid the Tetsusaiga in a location so secret it superseded that of any safe in Fort Knox.

A week after burying my father I learned that he never meant me to hold his prized possession the Tetsusaiga. Instead he'd bequeathed me the lesser sword. Totosai knew of my anger and wisely had the Tenseiga delivered to me via Fed-Ex.

Yes, one day I came home and found the priceless, yet useless, sword in a box leaning against my front door with a note on it. So it was wise of the ancient sword smith to fear me. He had so much to answer for.

Totosai pursed his thin lips, his eyes desperately searching my form for any sign of a sword in need of repair. “How is the Tenseiga? Surely that is the purpose behind your visit?”

I loomed over him and opened my mouth slowly allowing him a long look at my sharp canines. “Inuyasha was here. Did he leave you something?”

Totosai's eyes slid to his feet and he rubbed his thin neck with an arthritic, gnarled hand. “He just had some questions about his training.”

Questions eh? As if the half breed would ever admit to needing anyone's help. I put one hand on the door and leaned towards the ancient yokai sword smith. “Perhaps it would behoove you to tell me of your conversation.”

He squinted at me, “There's not much to tell. He wanted more power and I yelled at him for being too weak. It's not my fault he hasn't learned all of his sword's secrets. Then he called me a stupid old man and left.”

This sounded like Inuyasha but still… the old man was hiding something and I'd waited far too long to stand outside another moment.

I pushed Totosai aside with one sweep of my hand and ducked my head as I entered his humble shop. Swords of every conceivable shape, size and temperament hung on the walls and from the ceiling.

I looked up at the old plaster ceiling as I pulled my hair free from my coat. “Tell me Master Totosai, do yokai still ask you to forge weapons from fangs?”

He shut the door and followed closely behind me. He rubbed his hands under chin, his voice filled with a cantankerous pride. “Even though today's wars are fought from tanks and on computer screens, I still do a brisk business.”

I wasn't surprised to hear this, as many yokai are enamored with the old ways. I picked a broad sword from it's rack on the wall and held it in my hands, testing it's weight. The blade reacted to my yokai blood, warming to my touch and turning a shade of crimson that rivaled the eyes of my treacherous witch. “This is a fine blade.”

Totosai watched me cautiously, “That was forged from the fang of a fire taiyokai. He had me pull the tooth myself, which let me tell you, was quite the feat.”

He straightened his spine and his back cracked with the effort, “I told him I wasn't a dentist but no one ever listens to me…”

The old man knew what I was here for yet he had to nerve to crack jokes. I threw down the fire sword and it clanged on the concrete floor at our feet. “This is a butter knife compared to the Tetsusaiga. Where is my sword old man?”

He tripped over his own feet and hit the ground hard but still managed to scramble backwards like a crab. “It's… not here Sesshomaru. Inuyasha didn't leave it with me.”

“He didn't? So then he has it with him?” I advanced on the old man slowly. The hammer of his heart beat echoed in my ears.

He answered quickly “I don't know but probably… he needs it to keep his yokai side in check.” Then he frowned and wagged his boney finger at me. “Your father left him that sword to seal his blood. You can't do this to Inuyasha. It'd be cruel to leave him devastated and out of control.”

That was the third time in a week I'd been accused of being cruel and it was still only Thursday. Usually this Sesshomaru doesn't care what others think of me but this was wearing on my nerves. I flashed my eyes. “Useless old man, do you really think I care what happens to the half breed?”

Totosai's adams apple bobbed as he swallowed. “No, you never have before… so why start now?”

I bent over him and lifted Totosai from the ground by the collar of his shirt. He went lax and squelched his eyes anticipating the blow but I only set him on his feet. “Where is the Tetsusaiga?”

He widened his eyes and shook his white head. “It's not here.”

I growled at him and felt my eyes bleed to yokai red. “I'd be careful who I played games with old man. I am not my father.”

His eyes cleared as he narrowed them at me. “That's right, you sure as hell aren't.”

I picked him up by his arm and tossed him into the cracked plaster wall. Swords fell from the walls and landed around his cowed form, missing his skull by some unfortunate miracle. Totosai was old but he was hardy and had survived much worse. He sat in the cloud of plaster dust watching me. “Your father was a great taiyokai. I made him a promise.”

I knelt down before him and flexed my fingers before his shaking eyes. My fingertips glowed with a green light and I let the energy singe the edge of his pants. His lips thinned and he gasped but said nothing.

I stood up in disgust and shoved my hands in my suit pockets. There was no honor or glory to be had in the torment of this useless bag of bones. It was better to search the shop and be done with it.

Totosai was a master of hiding places; he'd used a charm to hide Tetsusaiga in the eye of the infant half breed. But I had a feel for the sword and was confident I'd find it.

I searched the walls for a battered and broken sword. Some of Totosai's weapons were priceless works of the art of death. But searching for Tetsusaiga reminded me of Indiana Jones when he was presented with the room full of holy grails. It's unwise to judge books, grails and magic yokai swords by appearance alone.

My search of his shop was fruitless. I pulled his back door off it's hinges and ventured into his hovel living quarters.

More swords lay on the floor and some were propped against the walls. Totosai's work was his life and that was something I had to respect.

His kitchen was beyond filthy and I hesitated before venturing into his bathroom. My claw found the switch and as light filled the room roaches scurried away to their respective hiding places.

In the corner, stuffed into an over flowing waste basket with it's scabbard leaning against the wall, was a katana sword. It's blade was dull, scratched and cracked beyond repair.

I touched the scabbard with my forefinger and the metal scorched my flesh. It was my Tetsusaiga and the crusty old man had been using it to scratch his scaly back. Rage burned in my throat as I wrapped a towel around my hand and lifted the katana from the trashcan. It flashed but reluctantly accepted me.

The sword's barrier spell was a minor annoyance but I expected after working with the Tetsusaiga I should be able to convince it to accept me. All I needed was time to break the barrier spell.

I pulled down another towel and wrapped my prize in it as I strode through the apartment and into the shop. Totosai was on his feet and rubbing his back. He was shook up but I'd done him no permanent damage. “Old man, tell Inuyasha you were robbed.”

He shrugged, “Why not? You are robbing me as we speak.”

I stopped and held his gaze with mine, “If you value your life you'll claim it was a stranger.”

He threw up his arms, “Fine. I'll do as you ask. But you will come to regret your actions here.”

Totosai was bold because he knew as the only living sword smith skilled enough to repair the Inu-yokai swords, I'd be a fool to slay him. I gave him a cool smile and saw him wince. “I have no regrets.”

I stepped outside his door and he slammed it behind me. The door rattled on it's hinges as I climbed the steps to his gate.

_-_-_-_

Once home I proceeded straight to the glass sword case in the basement. I unwrapped the Tetsusaiga from it's filthy towel and took great care in polishing it. The blade was scuffed and ugly but it hummed with a power that reverberated through my fingertips and temples.

It was with great reluctance that I hung it in the glass case but at long last I was able to stand back and admire my true inheritance.

Finally it was home, where it belonged. My father had let his feelings for a human woman rule his decisions and I'd righted his mistake by preserving our family legacy.

I lifted my chin as I admired the complete collection, and realized that after all these years my mission was over. A warm feeling of satisfaction filled my gut but it wasn't quite as gratifying as I'd expected. Perhaps success is best when shared. The witch's color was improving when I left her; maybe a trip upstairs to check on her was in order.

It was ironic that both the witch and the Tetsusaiga pushed me away but I wasn't ready to give up on either. I'd invest a bit of time and have both exactly as I wanted them.

Tetsusaiga was forged from the fang of my father. It's a majestic weapon with the power to slay a hundred yokai in a single stroke. The witch was a beautiful, powerful dark erotic force that I wasn't ready to lose. With both by my side my power and that of the house of Inu would be assured.

I locked the door behind me and went to find her.

_-_-_-_

Thanks everyone for reading and I am sorry for the slow updates but I will not give up on any story, I promise. I've got too much good stuff planned. I should have some more fanart ya'll have sent me up on the site before the next update.

Here is a random factoid; if you want to try Inuyasha's Ramen noodles they are now available in the Asian section of most supermarkets for around two dollars. They come in plastic bowls and have a picture of a chili pepper on them. I've tried them and they have quite the kick to `em. This is ironic because many of you will remember an outburst at Kagome's dinner table that showed Inuyasha clearly doesn't like spicy food. So either there's other flavors that aren't available over here or it's an error.

The Devil's Dictionary:

Bore:A person who talks when you wish him to listen.

Politics: Strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles.

The Inuyasha newbie minute:

Okay there are several people now reading this fic who do not watch anime, crazy huh? So here is a fast explanation for them.

In the anime Kagome rides on Inu's back when they travel. It's not kinky… really, well at least we don't think so.

Inuyasha's demon blood is kept under control by the Tetsusaiga, with out it he inexplicitly loses his shirt and his mind then kills people.

Inuyasha swears a lot in the magna (comic) so it's not out of character for him to have a filthy mouth.

The Tetsusaiga can only be used in defense of humans, which is why Sesshomaru can't wield it. Though his growing humanity makes it easier for him to handle it later on.