InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Heart's Landfill ❯ Foolish Endeavors ( Chapter 47 )

A/N: As always all characters will be walking that fine line called OOCness. I think this is the longest one yet, guys!! But it's packed with action, so at least it will be entertaining!! You guys won't believe how busy I've been!! Seriously, I don't know how I remember to breathe…lol. Anyway, you can thank Menaii for this chapter, because she did another fabulous pic that blew me away and well, I felt I had to make the time to post this one. Anyway, thanks guys for all of your wonderful reviews and your continued support, and I'll try not to keep you waiting as long next time-but no promises…lol. And Neko, my wonderful beta, you're freaking awesome! Thank you and I'll start working on those other chapters as soon as I catch my breath…(wink).

P.S. - If you belong to the Guild and you haven't voted, you're just WRONG!!! (Grins)

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership to anyone with the exception of Dinshu, Nola, Nya, Takira, Gage, Moki, Maki, and Dr. Aikio. All others belong to the wonderful and inspiring Rumiko Takahashi.

Chapter 47:

Foolish Endeavors

Stepping through the glass doors and back into the lobby, Inuyasha glanced down at Ashton and almost laughed. It seemed that every 4 or 5 steps the dog took, he had to shit.

The hanyou honestly had never seen anything like it before in his life. He was sure that Kagome wouldn't have found it funny in the least, but being there to witness it-even at 2 a.m.-was enough to make it almost worth it.

“I guess you got yourself a case of the shits, huh runt?” he joked. “Next time, I bet you'll stay out of the fucking garbage, won't you?”

The dog whined and pulled against the leash as if saying he wasn't ready to go upstairs, and Inuyasha tugged right back, pulling Ashton along.

Fighting against him, Ashton tried to sit down, his front paws pushing against the carpeted floor.

“Bring your ass on, mutt,” the hanyou ground out as he stared down at the mulish dog.

Ashton whined pitifully and started crawling around the floor, dragging his ass over the carpet as if he had an itch he just couldn't scratch.

Standing there watching the pathetic animal, Inuyasha couldn't help but to burst out laughing. “Serves your ass right,” he declared between chuckles.

Ashton looked up at him and Inuyasha swore that if dogs could cry, he would've been in tears right now.

Unfortunately, that only served to make the hanyou laugh even harder.

Sighing as his laughter died down, Takahashi stood motionless for a few more minutes while the dog alternated being trying to stand up and roughly dragging his ass across the carpet.

He knew he couldn't take the damn dog back upstairs because that would mean that he'd be right back down here with him within a few minutes, and that was just not something that he was willing to do at the moment.

“Look, I ain't fucking staying out here with you all night,” the hanyou snapped as he eyed a few of the security guards he'd hired since Kagome had been staying with him. Frowning since they would be of little assistance because they had jobs to do, he quickly turned his attention to the night doorman.

The perfect patsy, he thought with a smirk.

Grinning down at the dog, he started quickly towards the doorman.

“I got something for you, my friend,” he declared to Ashton as he stepped through the side entrance dragging the reluctant animal behind him.

If he remembered correctly, the guy's name was Muso, or something along those lines, but he couldn't honestly say that he was a 100 or even 50 percent sure about that.

“Oi,” the hanyou quipped conversationally.

The guy, whom appeared to be about the same age as him, turned and smiled before bowing slightly as he replied, “Takahashi-sama, is there something that I can help you with?”

Inuyasha grinned. Yep, owning the fucking building definitely has its perks.

“Yeah, uhm, `the girlfriend's' dog is sick, and I need to get up early for a meeting tomorrow, so if you could-” He hated lying to the guy, but he didn't want to seem just, well, lazy either.

The eager-beaver cut him off, “Would you like me to keep him out here with me?”

“Yeah, if you could, I'd really appreciate it.” Glancing around at a patch of grass sitting to the side of the door, but far enough away that it wouldn't turn someone's stomach if Ashton used it, Inuyasha finished, “He can go over there if he needs to.”

“Of course; what's the little guy's name?” the gentleman queried while reaching for the pup's leash.

“Ashton,” Takahashi retorted while handing the strap to him, “Your name is Muso, right?”

“Yes, sir,” he confirmed with a big grin on his face.

“Well, I'll have something for you tomorrow night for doing this for me; are you working?”

“That's not necessary, Takahashi-sama,” Muso advised with a deep bow.

Inuyasha glanced down at Ashton and chuckled as he advised, “You may not be thinking that in a few minutes. Anyway, bring him up after your shift ends, and whatever you do, don't give him anything to eat or drink.”

“Hai, Takahashi-sama.”

“Call me Inuyasha,” the hanyou corrected as he turned and started back through the glass doors.

He could hear Ashton begin to whine and bark as his claws connected repeatedly with the glass window surrounding the lobby, and he almost stopped and went back to get him.

That damn woman is turning me into some kind of wimp or something.

Inuyasha knew Ashton probably didn't like the idea of being left with a stranger, but a particular warm body laying in a big plush bed was calling his name, so with one last glance at `the girlfriend's' dog, he started quickly towards the elevators.

Period or not, that Wench owes me big for this one.

Simonkal of Inuy

Grinning down at his handiwork, Dinshu reveled in the fact that he had out smarted all of them.

He had managed to keep Kouga at bay by lying to him about his surveillance of the woman, Sango, and her fiancé. Whom, he knew had returned to their place of residence a few days ago.

Of course, he'd contemplated heading over there and finishing her off, but a man had to have his priorities, right? And fortunately for her, she just wasn't at the top of his list.

He'd also managed to keep the damned half-breed that was constantly sniffing around Kagome-Inuyasha he believed he heard her call him-from finding out that he'd been tailing them almost everywhere they went.

And then, the security guards blanketing the building; he'd fooled them as well. He'd tried coming in through the front door, the garage, and even the basement on a few different occasions, but they were everywhere and in-between.

He'd tried telling them that he was here to visit a girlfriend, but they stopped him dead in his tracks when they asked for a name and a unit number, so they could have her come down and get him. He'd then tried again when the hanyou left one morning dressed in a business suit.

That time, he'd told them that he was there to do some work in one of the upper units, but the prick at the door advised him that this building was equipped with a 24 hour maintenance service, and that the tenant that called him would just have to go through the proper channels for any necessary repairs.

After that, he started creeping around the building hoping to find a way in, but all of his attempts were futile, until that is, he scaled to the top of the fucking building.

He grinned at that. I wonder why they never thought of closing off the roof, the idiots!

His first time on the roof, he'd tried going through the door that led to the stairwell. Unfortunately, it was locked electronically and was only unlocked by maintenance or automatically should there be a fire or something along those lines. At least that's what the sign that was posted on it said.

Anyway, he's happened upon a glass dome type structure that had to be 5 or 6 panes thick and took up at least a 3rd of the roof. Peering in, he'd immediately known that it lead to a bedroom of some type, but by the looks of the white sheets blanketing every piece of furniture within, it was not a room that was used. That tidbit of information caused him to contemplate just breaking it, but he figured that that would definitely draw just a little too much attention.

Setting that plan aside until he truly had no other options; he'd lazily leaned over the side of the building while cogitating over exactly what to do next when he saw the solitary balcony, just sitting there as if calling his name.

Of course, he'd thought that the gods were smiling on him, but he didn't know exactly how true that was until he'd jumped down, tried the door, which was locked, and then was greeted by that freaking mutt that thwarted his plans every fucking time he got within a few feet of Kagome.

At that time, he'd thought about just breaking the door down, breaking the mutt's neck, and throwing him over the balcony, but he heard the half-breed from somewhere deeper in the condo yell at the dog, telling him to shut up.

Not wanting an altercation when it wasn't totally necessary, he'd jumped back up to the roof, and then made his way quickly back over to his original hiding place in order to put the rest of his plan into action.

Dinshu knew that the dog-the one on all fours-was going to get in his way, so he'd ventured to the nearest vet and picked up a few packs of pet laxatives, and some dog treats. Since he knew that the hanyou tended to leave the sliding glass door open every night, he decided that on the night that he put his plan into action, he would make sure the dog-the one on all fours-damn near overdosed on laxatives; thereby, getting rid of both mutts at once.

He knew the half-breed was not about to let Kagome walk the dog in the middle of the night because of how protective he was over her, and if he did… Well, that would've worked too, wouldn't it?

Turning his attention back to the woman in his arms, he brushed his thoughts off as he dragged his knuckles slowly over her heated skin.

“That should keep both your mutts busy for more than a little while, don't you think?” he whispered as he quickly shifted her so that he could lift her bridle style.

Turning on his heels, he stepped over to the bed and laid her down gently since he wasn't quite ready for her to awaken.

Brushing his fingers across the bump that was quickly forming on her forehead, he said quietly as if it was truly her fault, “I'm sorry, I had to do this to you, but you really didn't leave me any other alternative.”

Leaning over her so that his hands were on either side of her head, he slowly took in her sleeping face and the way her lips were parted ever so slightly as he grinned as if he'd just won some kind of award.

He ran his hand down the side of her face to her collar where he allowed the tips of his claws to trail ever so slowly across her flushed skin. “I did what he couldn't, did you know that?” he advised softly, as he dragged his hands down to her breasts, over her flat belly and down to the patch of skin that the little baby-doll tank top she wore couldn't cover.

Raking his claws across the area, he heard a groan slip from her and he grinned impishly. “I always did think you responded to me a little too well that night.”

He moved his hand down the inside of her thigh to her knee and lifted her leg so that it was bent as if she was eagerly waiting on him.

“Tonight, you'll know who I am, and you'll remember me; that I promise, Sweetness.”

Leaning in closer, he sniffed around her mouth, her neck, and then licked lightly at the corner of her mouth.

Inhaling deeply between his clenched teeth, Din shook his head slowly as he continued to stare down at her, unable to believe that he'd actually done it. He'd actually accomplished what Kouga couldn't.

When I'm done… He chuckled softly at his own thoughts. When I'm done, maybe…maybe I'll repay the favor and let Kouga get just a little taste. What do you think about that, Sweetness? Do you think you'll feel up to it? Grinning down at her, his thought finished, No I don't think you will either.

Dinshu's head snapped up.

Glancing from right to left and back again, he sighed as he reached over, pulled both ends of the comforter up that she was laying on, and wrapped it around her as if she was a human burrito.

Looking around him again, he could've sworn he felt something, but as far as he could tell there was nothing and no one there.

Brushing his unease off as he tossed his prize over his shoulder and started towards the door, he decided quickly that he was probably just being paranoid. That aside, he figured that the smart thing to do would be to get the hell out of dodge with his package in tow since it was never his plan to taste her here anyway.

Besides, he figured that there was only so much shitting the dog could do, before the damn hanyou dragged him back upstairs.

Play time will just have to wait, eh?

Starting up the long dark hallway, he made sure to keep his eyes and ears open for anything that may be out of sorts. However, as he stepped out of the hallway and into the living room, he stopped short and backpedaled just a little as the darkness shifted around him eerily.

Taking another step back, his package still over his shoulder, Dinshu stared into the darkness surrounding him and tried to figure out if it had actually been this dark when he'd entered the hanyou's home.

Being a demon, he had excellent eyesight, but this darkness…this thing that was surrounding him, barely allowed him to see his own legs when he looked down.

He tried to sense for any auras that shouldn't have been there, but he couldn't sense a fucking thing! It was almost as if his senses-all of them-had been dulled by something or someone.

I'm just being fucking paranoid. Shit, I can't see a damn thing, because there's nothing here for me to see, he told himself as he hesitantly proceeded forward only to come to a complete stop as he stared out onto the balcony, his only way out.

Fuck!!

Dinshu swallowed, and stepped back as he stared at the bat youkai that was propped up on the railing as if he was some kind of gargoyle-immovable and emotionless. His jet black ponytail blowing out behind him, one clawed hand gripping the railing between his bent knees where he squatted, while the other hand held onto a long sword encased in a shiny black lacquer sheath, and his eyes... Those fucking eyes of his were black as charcoal just before it was lit, and his skin…

“Mo…Moki, what are you doing here?” Dinshu questioned irritably, somehow already knowing the answer. Son of a bitch!

Moki said nothing as he narrowed his eyes at the package over Dinshu's shoulder.

The darkness around him shifted again and Dinshu swallowed convulsively, and gripped Kagome's body tighter with one hand as he reached slowly into the side band of his jeans.

He could feel the darkness roll over him, taunting him, tempting him, and promising him something that he couldn't rightfully face at the moment. He could feel the power in it, and he knew…he knew that this darkness…this thing that surrounded him…that moved as if it was a living thing was not natural; it was Maki, Moki's fucking twin brother!

He despised them and every solitary thing they stood for, the fucking bastards! He hated them, because they acted as if they were better than everyone else! They acted as if they weren't killers and thugs, when they were the deadliest ones of all! They…the pricks, acted like they were better than everyone else that worked for Kouga, including him!

He fucking loathed both of them and would rather die at the hands of a whimpering, tit sucking pig, than to be killed by either one of them!

“Moki, I'm just doing what the boss told me to do!” he snarled, hoping that the bat demon would believe him.

Moki continued to stare at him, his eyes unreadable, his body stiff as a statue, his eyes shining against the night sky behind him. If Din had to describe it, he would've probably equated it to two simmering tar pits in the dead of night.

“Look if you want, I'll let you take her in. You…you can tell the boss that you found her. You can claim the catch,” Din tried, fruitlessly. The darkness around him rolled again as if becoming impatient and he growled, his nose flaring wide, “What? Cat got your fucking tongue? I don't have time for another one of your fucking staring competitions, you bastard!”

Moki glanced over Din's shoulder at the front door, and then back at the wolf demon. The package…the thing the Kouga had presumably lost was still hanging over his shoulder, but beginning to move more with each moment that dribbled by. He rolled his head around slowly, loosening up the muscles in the sides of his neck, but he said nothing.

The darkness rolled up around Dinshu like liquid venom; vile and disgusting. It twisted and churned erratically, engulfing him slowly like black smoke from burning carcasses. It rolled up past his calves, his knees, his hips, to his abdomen.

Dinshu reached for the gun he carried, but the smoke…the darkness twisted higher and with such fierceness that he felt as if a large fist had just been wrapped around him and it was hell bent on crushing every fucking bone in his body!

“What? You gonna fucking kill me, you pricks? He sent you to fucking kill me? For what? For doing what he told me to do?” he hissed as his body spasmed uncontrollably causing Kagome to slip from his grasp and tumbled to the floor landing with a loud thud.

He tried fighting against it; twisting his body one way and then the other, but the more he tried, the tighter the smoke…the darkness held to him, forcing the air out of his lungs and slowing the blood that was pulsing through his veins.

Fear snaked its way up his spine and spread quickly out to every nerve in his body choking him, and suffocating him all at once. I won't fucking die here! I won't die like this, fuck them!

“Don't…don't… Moki, don't…” he tried to say against his better judgment. But as he looked up, his eyes riddled with rage, fear, and pain, Dinshu swallowed as he watched Moki step slowly down off the railing and appear to glide towards him slowly with that blasted sword dragging lazily behind him.

Dinshu swallowed again in an attempt to rewet his parched throat, but Moki paid no attention to him. Instead, he knelt down beside Kagome's body, pulled the comforter back, and stared down at her face for a brief moment before he looked up again and at the front door.

“Mo…Moki, I thought we were friends. Te…ll your brother to stop this. We…” Dinshu hissed between clenched teeth, knowing that he was reaching, because Moki and Maki considered no one a friend. Seeing as how he was being ignored, he bellowed, his anger surging to the forefront again, “Fuck you! Fuck you both! Kill me, damn it! The fact remains, I did something that none of you could do! I fucking found her! Dinshu; me motherfucker, I found her!”

His head tilting slightly from one side to the other, Moki stared at him for a long moment before turning and gliding back towards the balcony. Coming to a stop, he intoned impassively over his shoulder as if he was speaking about a bag of stinking, rotting garbage, “Maki, you are to remain here; however, you are not to intervene. Let the hanyou do with him as he wishes and when he's done, if there is anything left, kill him.” Starting towards the door again, he continued while pointing at the comforter that Kagome was wrapped in, “No harm is to come to that thing.”

The darkness rumbled up higher on Dinshu's body uncompromisingly, and rolled away just as quickly, disappearing back into the darkened crevices and shadows of the room as if it never existed.

As Moki stepped onto the balcony, he turned so that he was partially facing the wolf youkai. His face was expressionless, his eyes swimming pools of the darkest part of hell itself. “I will see you in hell,” he avowed quietly as his body evaporated into nothingness, while the door of the condo cracked open slowly.

Dinshu dropped to the ground and reached for Kagome with one hand while grabbing for his gun with his other hand only to realize that it was no longer there.

Maki, the bastard, took it!

Simonkal of Inuy

Stepping out of the elevator, Inuyasha glanced up and down the short hallway knowing that no one would be there, because the only door up here was his. Even knowing that, he still couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong…very, very wrong.

I'm just tired, he tried to tell himself as a chill ran up and down his spine.

Attempting to shake his thoughts off, the hanyou started towards his door, but slowed as the sound of a voice that he could vaguely remember hearing once before floated out to him.

Most of what was being said sounded just a little muffled, but he clearly heard, “I did something none of you could do! I fucking found her! Dinshu; me motherfucker, I found her!”

Inuyasha stopped dead in his tracks.

Hold the fuck up! I have to be hearing things, because I just know-

He sniffed the hallway lightly, but he didn't smell anything out of the ordinary. Running his hand across his forehead since he had to be merely hearing voices again, the hanyou tried to tell himself that he was just having a small nervous breakdown and nothing more.

That's it; I'm fucking imagining things again.

Starting towards his door again, Inuyasha sighed lightly and tried to laugh at himself as he reached for the doorknob.

His movements stilled instantly.

He could feel an aura penetrating through the door as if wanting to make itself known.

What the fuck?

He shook his head slowly as realization slowly fell over him. The hanyou licked his lips, his fists clenching as he swallowed convulsively.

No…no…no…fucking no!

Laying his palm flat against the door, he tried to feel for how many were there, but outside of the one aura, he couldn't pick up on anyone else.

This son of a bitch must be out of his fucking mind, he growled silently as a deep scowl fell over his face.

Okay, so if I heard what the fuck I know I heard, then who the hell was he talking to? Pushing that thought to the back of his mind since that really was the least of his worries at the moment, Inuyasha gripped the handle again and twisted as he slowly pushed the door open, not exactly sure what he was going to find.

Without taking his eyes off of the demon in front of him, the hanyou pushed the door closed behind him and stepped further into the condo, his mind running a mile a minute!

The diplomatic part of him was telling him to just talk to the guy or better yet call the police, but the violent protective part was whispering seductive little violent things that he could do to the interloper before he decided to get the authorities involved.

Glancing at the bundle on the floor as the debate in his mind raged on, Inuyasha sniffed and stopped, his heart rate instantly increasing, his blood pressure rising dramatically as everything fell into place just a little too well.

The restaurant… The guy at the hospital… That fucking scent; he's the one that was at Kagome's place! Kagome, he thought hysterically, glancing down at the comforter quickly then back at the youkai. Dinshu… The fucker that that prick let fuck Kagome!

The hanyou grinned sinisterly down at the youkai as the internal battle that was raging inside him was won by the protective violent part of his mind.

The youkai stood to his feet slowly while carefully eyeing him, and Inuyasha stepped back, kicked his slippers off, and smirked as he stated conversationally while squaring his shoulders, “So, exactly how are you planning on getting out of here…Dinshu?”

Dinshu scoffed and narrowed his eyes at the half-demon. “What, you think a half-breed like yourself can fucking stop me?”

Tugging his t-shirt over his head, the hanyou rolled his head slowly, stretching the tendons in his neck as he replied wryly, “Who said anything about stopping you; I just want my comforter.”

Dinshu shot him a look that clearly said he thought he'd lost his mind, and Inuyasha was more than okay with that.

“Your comforter? That's…that's all you want?” the demon questioned, his voice holding every ounce of bewilderment he was feeling.

Takahashi grinned at the demon as he tossed his shirt on the floor near his feet. “Well, I also want to see how tight your ass is,” he offered as he began slowly walking towards the demon that appeared to be more than a little caught off guard by his last statement. Picking up just enough speed, Inuyasha finished as he lifted his right leg and kicked the wolf demon dead in the center of his chest, “But first things first, my fucking comforter!”

Dinshu flew back through the glass balcony doors, breaking them as he landed hard on the cement balcony!

Inuyasha stared at him for a brief second before he quickly knelt down next to the bundle. Un-wrapping it, he swiftly checked for a pulse and for any blood, but after noticing that there was none, he stood back to his feet, his eyed fixated on the demon that was currently using the railing to pull himself to his feet.

“I got my comforter back. Now it's time to test that ass of yours,” Inuyasha quipped nastily, his fangs bared at the demon as he stepped carelessly through the broken glass and onto the balcony.

Dinshu sprang to his feet and charged at him, his claws outstretched before him, but Inuyasha was quicker! He sidestepped him and caught him in the face with a quick right hook, and then ducked catching him in the ribs with a left, knocking him back so that his body flew back and almost over the railing!

Inuyasha stepped forward swiftly, grabbing the demon by the hair and pulled him back roughly. “I'm not ready to let you leave just yet, Dinshu. I still need to check the tightness of your ass,” he hissed, as he twisted the demon's ponytail around his hand and rammed his face into the cinderblock siding of the building once, twice, three times, and then roughly threw him back into the condo.

Dinshu pushed up off the floor slowly as he tried to regain his bearings, but Inuyasha wasn't feeling that in the least!

Stalking through the living room and towards the demon, Takahashi hissed, his mind a muddled mess of incoherent sadistic thoughts of things he could do to the demon before he tossed his sorry ass over the balcony, “You break into my house, touch my things, and then think I'm just going let you leave with my favorite comforter?” Cracking his knuckles eerily, he finished with a dry chuckle, “You must be out of your fucking mind!”

Stepping past the fire place that he rarely used, Takahashi picked up the cast iron, platinum fire poker that Rin had given him as a birthday gift the year before as he came to a stop 3 feet from the demon.

Inuyasha stared at Dinshu, his head tilting from right to left and back again as if he was confused about something. “You know, I would've thought that you would be more of a challenge, but-”

The demon charged at Inuyasha, cutting him off. His claws extended in front of him, aiming directly at the hanyou's chest! Inuyasha jumped back, blocking Kagome's body as he fended off Dinshu's quick strikes with the fire poker.

Sparks created by the force of Dinshu's claws connecting with the metal, flew left and right, up and down as the hanyou continued to block the powerful blows! He realized in that moment, that maybe sparring on a regular basis with Sesshomaru really was good. Because this youkai was damn near child's play, not to mention that compared to his brother, he was slower than molasses.

Shaking off his thoughts, Inuyasha, hissed, “Enough!” as he gripped both ends of the fire poker and pushed back ferociously, sending the demon scrambling backwards and towards the front door again!

Not giving him a chance to recoup, Inuyasha charged at him! Bringing the poker up over his head he brought it down quickly in an arcing fashion colliding with the side of Dinshu's shoulder, his head, and across his chest repeatedly as if he was whipping an ill tempered child!

Dinshu tried to duck when he wasn't trying to defend himself, but the more he tried to fight back, the madder Inuyasha seemed to get!

Whacking the demon across the face with the poker, Inuyasha hissed hatefully, “Is your fucking alarm on, Dinshu?!” Bringing the poker up again, he switched the poker to his left hand and brought it down roughly, ripping open the flesh of the demon's side as he hissed tauntingly, repeating what the wolf had told Kagome a few days earlier, “Turn your fucking alarm off…because…I don't want it going off when I kick you fucking door in!”

Inuyasha brought the fire poker down again, but Dinshu caught it, so the hanyou growled agitatedly and threw a left hook catching the demon in the jaw and sending him headfirst into the glass table nearest the door.

Dinshu scrambled backwards on his butt, his hands up in mock surrender. “Wait! Wait! Don't… No more…no more, damn it!” He spat out a substance that Inuyasha knew was blood, as more blood oozed from his mouth, the entire right side of his face, his nose, and a gash in his head.

“How the fuck do you know me? Ho..How the fuck do you know my name?” Dinshu questioned eagerly as he clutched at his side while trying to inch further away from the hanyou.

Takahashi laughed as he lifted the fire poker and stared at it as if it was the best thing next to a real sword. He knew that the demon was simply trying to buy time and that was fine with him, because he could use a minute to catch his breath before he continued whipping the living shit out of him.

Thumbing the blood drenched tip of the fire poker, the hanyou responded coolly, “Given the circumstances that should really be the least of your worries, shouldn't it?” Not waiting for a response, he raised his weapon high over his head and snarled as he stepped determinedly towards his prey, “Breaks over!”

“No…no more!” the demon shouted desperately as he pushed back away from the hanyou. “No…no more!”

Inuyasha stopped and stared at the wolf demon, the fire poker clasped tightly in his hand. “No more?” he mimicked, as he glanced over his shoulder at Kagome, who was beginning to stir.

Dinshu took that moment to pounce on Inuyasha, tackling him to the floor.

The two wrestled back and forth for possession of the fire poker, but somewhere along the way it slipped from Inuyasha's grasp and slid across the floor and into the darkest corner of the room.

Dinshu looked at it and Inuyasha knew if he wanted to, the demon could have gone for and gotten it, but he seemed almost afraid. Using that momentary lapse in judgment to his advantage, Inuyasha punched the wolf in his temple, sending him flying to the other side of the dining room floor.

Jumping to his feet, the hanyou stalked back towards him, his fists balled up at his sides. Watching the demon try to crawl away from him like a cowardly animal infuriated the hell out of him!

This son of a bitch had basically raped Kagome! He was probably the one that terrorized Sango not even a week ago! And now, he had the fucking audacity to be acting like some pathetic, sorry, wimpy bitch!

Kicking the demon viciously in the stomach, the hanyou hissed hatefully, “Get your fucking ass up, you fucking coward!”

Dinshu grunted out a curse word and curled into a ball on his side, which only pissed Inuyasha off even more!

Stomping on the demon's head a few times, Inuyasha shouted, “You sorry son of a bitch!” Kicking him again, he continued, “You can terrorize a fucking woman, but you can't get the fuck up and fight a man, huh?”

The hanyou stepped back, glared down at the demon and shook his head disappointedly. “You're fucking pathetic!” he hissed as he heard Kagome soft voice whisper his name. He knew she wasn't fully awake, but she was awake enough.

Sparing another moment to kick the demon in his head, Inuyasha turned and stalked out of the dining room where they had somehow ended up during their fight.

Stepping through the darkness, he couldn't help the uneasy feeling that he got, but he supposed that it was because of the intruder. So, he pushed that feeling to the back of his mind as he stepped into the dim light of the living room and attempted to make his way to where Kagome was sprawled on the floor.

She was pushing herself up into a seated position slowly as he neared her and he quickened his pace. “Kagome, try not to move too much!”

“Inuyasha, what's going-” she started to say as she looked up at him, but the look of confusion on her face that twisted into fear told him that someone was behind him.

Ducking, Inuyasha spun around catching the wrist of Dinshu's hand as he tried to drive what looked like some kind of hunting knife into his back.

“She's mine!” Dinshu hissed. “I fucking found her! I found her!” he continued as he pushed against Inuyasha's hold. “Ain't no sorry ass half-breed going to stop me!”

Inuyasha's feet slid across the smooth floor and he cursed himself for not putting in carpet as he heard Kagome whine fearfully from somewhere behind him as she tried to move out of their way.

The hanyou blinked and refocused his attention on the demon before him as he pushed back with everything he had in him. Gripping Dinshu's wrist, he twisted it and bent it back at the same time until he heard the bone crack in several places.

Dinshu screamed and pulled back before he charged forward again, lashing out at Inuyasha with the claws of his other hand, catching the tender skin of the hanyou's chest and ripping it open!

Inuyasha hissed in pain as his blood started to drain down his chest to his abdomen, but he pushed that to the side as he brought his knee up while grabbing the sides of Dinshu's head and bringing it down, so that his knee repeatedly connected with his face!

Grabbing the back of the shirt that the demon was wearing, the hanyou gripped it tightly and spun on his heels, tossing him roughly through the balcony doors and sending him flying over the railing!

“Inuyasha!” he heard Kagome scream, but as his feet moved towards the balcony, he couldn't stop to give her the attention she needed! He needed to make sure that he was gone…he needed to make sure that the bastard was fucking dead!

Hearing a loud crash and the sound of a car alarm go off, Inuyasha stared down over the balcony. His breathing heavy and labored as he watched the security guards he'd hired to keep people like that prick out of his building surround the car and body in question.

Stepping back away from the railing, the hanyou inhaled and exhaled a few times before he trusted himself to go back in and take care of Kagome.

He couldn't have survived that fall. No fucking body-youkai or human-could survive that fucking fall, he told himself as an urgent knock echoed from his front door.

Stepping back through the broken glass, he watched as one of the security guards opened the door and stepped in followed by five or six other guards, their guns drawn and ready.

Inuyasha hissed as he dropped to his knees, the adrenaline that had been pumping through his veins beginning to recede back into whatever darkened crevices they normally hid in, “Is he dead?”

“Takahashi-sama, are you alright?” one of them asked urgently.

“Is he fucking dead?” the hanyou hissed again, his body heavy, his head throbbing, and his blood pulsing within his ears advising him silently that he needed to calm down.

“As best we can tell, yes,” one of the men replied as he stepped pass Inuyasha and onto the balcony.

“Good. Call the police and an ambulance; she needs to be checked out,” he directed as he finally turned his attention to Kagome, whom was huddled in the corner between the entertainment center and the balcony door.

Reaching for her slowly, Inuyasha tried to smile reassuringly. “Come here, Wench.”

She seemed like she didn't want to comply, but when she did move, she threw herself into his arms, tears streaming down her face as her body trembled violently against his own.

“It's okay. He can't hurt you anymore. I made sure of that,” he told her softly.

She pushed back and looked up at him searching his face for something, but he couldn't rightfully say he knew what that was. Attempting to lighten the mood just a little he asked, “What; you going to tell me that my eyes turned red again?”

She shook her head negatively and just stared at him, her body still trembling and tears still streaming down her face.

The look that she gave him unnerved him to no end, so he scented her, pushed her back further and checked her over to make sure that she hadn't been hurt. Seeing and smelling nothing, he asked, “What is it, Kagome?”

“You're hurt. Your chest, Inuyasha!” she cried. “He hurt you, oh God, Inuyasha!”

“This, it's nothing. I've had worse sparring with Sesshomaru,” he replied dismissively.

She sat back away from him as she slowly reached up and ran two of her fingers lightly through the blood that was running down his chest. Glancing up at him, she started softly, “It's because of me. You got hurt because of me. Sango…Sango got attacked because of me! All of this… All of this is because of me, Inuyasha, and I didn't know him! All of this is my-

Regardless of whether that was a true statement or not, he was by no means going to let her shoulder that blame. “Stop talking ignorance, Wench. That animal did what he did because he wanted to. You didn't make him.”

“But he was really after me! He was really after me! It's my fault! It's…all of it is my fault!”

Inuyasha pulled her closer and softly shushed her in an attempt to get her to calm down. Kissing her temple, he whispered, “Kagome, stop. It's not your fault. Nothing that happened here tonight or with Sango is your fault. You can't think like that.”

She pushed back away from him. “How many other people have gotten hurt because of me? How many people that I didn't know, Inuyasha? He could've killed you! He… Oh, God, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!” she cried as she stared down at her hands, ignoring his previous statement.

“None of that matters now. He's dead. He can't hurt anyone else, Wench.” Lifting her chin so that she was looking up at him, Inuyasha finished, “None of this was your fault, Kagome. Not one solitary thing that happened here or with Sango. Do you understand?”

She stared up at him searching his face for something and he smiled reassuringly in hopes of getting her to relax.

She wiped at her eyes, and then ran the pads of her thumbs over his cheeks as she questioned hopefully, “It's not my fault?”

“No, Wench, it's not.”

She forced a smile that he didn't believe for a moment, but relaxed just the same as she stated, ”I…I almost didn't recognize you. I…I…didn't know you were actually capable of that. Of so much power…so much…anger…rage…”

The hanyou visibly relaxed a little more as more guards entered his home, turning on lights and roaming through as if trying to piece together what had taken place. He wasn't sure how the fight looked from Kagome's perspective, and he wasn't sure that he really wanted to know, he was just glad that he was there and he'd dealt with the situation in the manner that any half decent friend or boyfriend would have.

Reaching out, he buried his clawed hand into the hair at the nape of her neck and pulled her closer to him. Kissing her lightly on the lips, he whispered, “For you, Kagome, you'd be amazed at what I'm capable of.”

In that instant the entire room went pitch black as a starless moonless winter night. Inuyasha held tighter to Kagome, and shifted quickly so that she was lying beneath him, his body shielding her.

He heard the guards urgently talking, scrambling to pull their weapons and the hanyou closed his eyes and waited for whatever would come next.

Instead of anything dramatic happening, the light reappeared as if it had never went out and the hanyou couldn't help but to wonder if it had anything to do with the presence he'd felt from the moment he'd walked into the condo. He hadn't paid it any attention at the time because his focus was on what he could see and touch, but now, he had to wonder.

What the hell was that? Was it another fucking demon?

The guards scrambled about shouting at one another as he sat up and pulled Kagome up and into his lap. Kissing her on the temple, he whispered in order to put her mind at ease, “It was just the electricity.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I'm sure,” he lied as the first of many police officers stepped into his home.

“Inuyasha, I think…” She swallowed as if she didn't think he was going to like what she said next. “I want to go home.”

Glancing around at the broken glass, the blood that was splattered on the walls and the floor, and then at the turned over chairs and tables, the hanyou chuckled, “Yeah, I can see how you would want to.” Kissing her in the center of her forehead, he finished, “When we're done here, we'll head over there, okay?”

Kagome shook her head and clarified sullenly, “No, I want to go home, Inuyasha. I…I want to go home to Kyoto. I want to see my family; my mom, my grandpa, my brother, and my friends. I want to go home, Takahashi.”

Inuyasha stared at her for a long moment before he sighed in defeat. He supposed if she didn't want to go home and be around people she was familiar with after what she'd been through in the past few weeks, not to mention tonight, he would've thought that something was wrong with her.

But even knowing all that, it still didn't stop him from feeling like she'd just kicked him dead in the face.

She wants to go home? She wants to go home to her family…her friends. She wants to leave me?

He could still feel her small body trembling erratically against his and he sighed dejected, and shook his head in an attempt to brush off his thoughts as he conceded defeat to a battle he hadn't even fought, “Of course; but let's get you checked out first okay? And then I'll have Nya make the arrangements for you.”

Before she could answer, one of the officers walked up and stated, “Takahashi-sama, we need a statement from you and your wife.”

“She's `the girlfriend',” he corrected quickly as he reached out and wrapped the blanket tighter around her shoulders. Sparing just a moment to look at her as the corners of his mouth turned up slightly in a false smile, Inuyasha sat her down on the floor beside him.

Turning his attention to the Officer, he patted the ground in front of him and stated, “Have a seat.”

Until Next Time… (This one was long so I had to split it into two chapters!! Anyway, your 02. Cents are greatly appreciated!!)

Next Chapter: Doubt

Acknowledgements:

Zetsuii ~ Matthew30 ~ Ai Kisugi ~ InuGoddess715 ~ Silverwolfhalfbeast ~ Nicc85 ~ MadMistress65 ~ Lostgirl1 ~ Deebabyyx3 (Thank you) ~ Angel-up-above-heaven ~ Deipurple ~ Miss_Marilyn69 ~ Shadeless Night ~ Bigfanofiykag ~ Niiicko ~ Loulou4729 ~ Midcat ~ Meru ~ Mynera